Ink Stained Leaves
by Lostbasin
Summary: The Nine-Tails attack on Konoha left the village feeling defeated and on edge. Will the arrival of a newly reunited clan be what it needs to make a come back and once again show the ninja world why they are the strongest? What affect will their arrival have on a certain blond haired prankster? Human Ammy, rated T for now, may change as story progresses.
1. The Sun Rises

Welcome one and all, to my first ever fanfic! I got the idea for this while trying to find a decently long crossover fic to read. Alas, my search was in vain, though the one I did find sparked a bit of inspiration that wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to actually get this down on paper... binary? Either way, it's written down and here to be enjoyed. Now, as this is the first time that I am actually writing a story, I would like to say a few words to introduce myself. I am Lostbasin, I have been hooked on fanfictions for about the past year now, it all started when I came across these HFY stories and it kind of snowballed from there. Enough about me, if people become interested, I may actually write something in my bio. I'll let you get to reading this story, I hope you guys enjoy.

Also, I do not own either Naruto or Okami.

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Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter 1

The Sun Rises

Tragedy doesn't begin to cover what Konoha had just gone through. Only three days had passed since the Kyuubi no Yoko had attacked the ninja village and leaving it without its leader or many of its ninja protectors. Three days since many lost their loved ones to the tailed beast that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Three days to mourn and grieve the loss of life and home.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, having retaken his position as Hokage, could only look out over the village he resides over and think that this is not how things were supposed to go. This is not what he had in mind when he stepped down as leader. The village was supposed to have a bright future ahead of it, led by the most powerful ninja of this generation, not an old man past his prime.

The loss of Namikaze Minato hit the village hard, despite his heroic sacrifice to end the Nine Tailed fox's rampage. The village would be forever grateful for what he did, 'Though,' Sarutobi thought bitterly, 'not for the reasons they should be.'

Thinking back on the days following the bijuu's assault, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel saddened at how many of the populace had reacted to the news that the Yondaime did not in fact kill the beast as they had originally thought, but had sealed it into a newborn boy.

Almost as if sensing his thoughts, Hiruzen heard a soft sneeze come from the crib sitting next to his desk. Looking over the bar, he saw a blonde haired baby boy who had some of the bluest eyes the one could ever hope to see.

The old Hokage couldn't help but smile sadly at the three day old, knowing that he could have had a normal life if only some people hadn't opened their moronic mouths. He didn't know who blabbed to the ever gossipy villagers, but when he found who did; he would see to it personally that they would live to regret it.

His eyes drifted to the blanket that was covering the boy and his face regressed again into sadness. His wife had made that covering as a gift to the soon to be parents of the child, his wife who unfortunately was a victim of the Fox's wrath. He wasn't quite sure if he would be able to perform his duty to the village without his other half; as she had provided him with much needed comfort from the hardships that the title came with.

Sighing, the aged ninja turned from the crib to once again look over his village. What was once a sight that he used to remind himself of why he became Hokage was now a nightmare to gaze upon. The once serene view was now marred by the smoke of destroyed buildings; a scar on his once peaceful village. How many were sleeping peacefully when the beast arrived? How many didn't make it out in time? His ninja were still sorting through the ruins and every day a report came to him stating the number of people that were found, it was discouraging how small the number found alive were.

'How did it all go wrong?' Hiruzen thought.

Silence was the only answer he received. Not that he expected one, a lesson he learned during his many years as leader of Konoha. If he wanted answers he would have to look for them. Unfortunately, he had neither the time nor the man power in order to issue an investigation. Too many ninja were lost and in order to keep up appearances he had sent out most of his jonin to fulfil missions while those that remained, along with the chunin and genin, worked to repair the worst of the damages.

Konoha had definitely seen better times, one could only wonder if this tragedy would lead to more suffering, or, if by some miracle, things would remain peaceful. War was the last thing Hiruzen wanted, so much so that if pressed, he would do anything to protect his people, even if it meant surrender. As it was, Konoha could quite likely be taken over by a group of small children armed with nothing but water balloons. He could only hope to be so lucky; the most they would ask for is spending money for sweets.

A knock on the office door interrupted him from his thoughts.

"Enter." He said as he gathered his loose emotions back into order.

A genin entered, looking rather distressed, alarming considering the state he was most likely already in.

"Hokage-sama! One of our scouts just reported in! He says that there is a large group of people making their way to west gate! We have no idea who they are and we have received no notice of their arrival!" the genin managed to gasp out, impressive seeing as it looked like he had ran there from the outer wall. Still, his news was concerning to the reinstated leader. He had to act quickly.

"How quickly are they advancing? Did anyone see anything to identify their village?" he said, more calmly than he felt.

Having caught his breath, the genin more evenly said "No Hokage-sama, the scout only reported that they're coming from the west and that they are around 200 in number."

Hiruzen thought carefully. He couldn't just send out his ninja to face a force that large. Not without suffering major losses, losses they just couldn't afford. Nor could he ignore their approach. News couldn't have spread that fast to the other ninja villages in only three days, so they couldn't have sent their forces yet, let alone one that size. Could this have been planned? He found that hard to believe, knowing what he knew of the events that had transpired. After a few moments of thinking, he rose from his chair.

"Go inform the west gate that I will be there to await the arrival of these people. If they mean the village harm, then they will have to face me. If not, well, we'll just see what they came here for." he said with a hard edge to his voice.

Bowing, the chunin hurried off to fulfil his orders. Hiruzen then ordered one of his anbu guards to stay with the baby and had the other two follow him to the gate that the group of unknowns are headed toward.

Arriving, Hiruzen could already see that the ninja guarding the gate were on edge. He couldn't blame them, as most seemed to be genin with some fresh chunin amongst their ranks. Very few of them had even seen life or death combat, this could possibly be their first real battle. The Hokage hoped against hope that this would not be the case. He didn't need the deaths of so many young ninja adding to the stains that already plagued his soul.

Quietly he and his ninja waited. They didn't wait long.

Within the shadows of the forest that surrounded Konoha, the Hokage could see the shuffling mass that could only be this mystery force. His first impression was that if these people were trying to be stealthy, they may want to change their outfits first.

Sure enough, every single person that the old leader could see was garbed in white clothing that seemed to be accented with red. From elegant robes to simple clothing, every man, woman, and child wore the same colors. Even more surprising was that they all had white hair and black eyes. Well, all but the woman who appeared to be leading them, as she wore a kimono of vibrant crimson with what appeared to be white flames running along the bottom. He could assume she led them because just as the group came into view of the gates, she gestured to people following her and they responded by coming to a halt.

Seemingly satisfied that her order was heeded, she turned to a man on her right side, exchanging words that Hiruzen could not hear. Seeing the man nod, the woman began to make her way towards the gates of Konoha without any sort of guard. She didn't even approach with any degree of hostility. Hiruzen wondered if this could be a trap of some sort, though if it was, he couldn't figure out how it would work. Looking past the woman, he saw that many of the group had fallen into seating postures, as if they were glad to have finally sat down after a long journey.

This put Hirzuen's nerves at ease somewhat; he still didn't know who these people were or why they were here. Turning his eyes back on the approaching woman, he began to take in more of her features. Her hair was as white as fresh fallen snow, with the tips fading into black, almost as if stained by something. Her face was quite possibly one of the most beautiful he had ever witnessed, her skin a lovely pale coloration. This was contrasted by her eyes, different from the rest of her group, being a shade of red that reminded him of one of his chunin, Yuhi was her family name.

He would have admired her beauty even more if it wasn't for the fact that she was still an unknown. That and by the time he managed to look away from her eyes she had already stopped a close but safe distance away from him. Seemingly aware of his status as a high ranking ninja she addressed him first.

"Greetings, might I assume that you are the leader of this village?" she asked with a voice that would be right at home in a singing hall for kings.

Hiruzen, after shaking off his thoughts, responded "I am Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, leader of this village. Might I ask who you are and why you and your" he glanced over her shoulder at the tired travelers "friends are here?"

Giving the Hokage a smile laced with sadness, she reached into the sleeve of her kimono, an act that set the already tense ninjas further on edge. Seeing this, the woman gave a reassuring look before slowly bringing out a scroll from within the folds of her outfit. Hiruzen was surprised to see the symbol for Konoha on the seal; he was even more surprised to see the symbol used by his successor/predecessor right next to it. This meant that she had been in contact with the Yondaime before he died.

"Judging by your expression, I take it you recognize the symbols on this scroll. Allow me to put your mind at ease Hokage-sama. I, Okami Rasu, as well as my family, were invited by the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, to join Konohagakure where we would serve the village as a new clan."

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To say he needed a drink was an understatement. Hiruzen was back in his office with Okami Rasu, reading over the scroll that she had. In it were details of how the Yondaime had been in correspondence with the Okami clan head for the past few months, negotiating with her in order to bring her clan into Konoha. From what he read, the Okami had broken off into several branches near the end of the Warring States period. For what reason, he did not know. What he did know is that Rasu had been working tirelessly for the past 5 years to bring these branches back together as one clan. The scroll didn't say what she had done to do accomplish this, but based of the large number of people who are following her, it clearly worked.

Wondering why Minato would even reach out to the mysterious clan head, he read further into the scroll. Eventually he came across mention of what the Okami clan had to offer. From what he read, it appeared that the Okami were skilled in the art of fuinjutsu, to what extent the scroll did not say. He didn't think they could be on the same scale as the now nearly extinct Uzumaki clan seeing as how their skill with the art is what led to their destruction at the hands of those who feared them. No, if a clan were as skilled as the Uzumaki's were then they would have been hunted down as well. From what he could gather, the Okami clan just split, almost as if they had no reason to remain a clan.

While the scroll stated that the clan had no kekkei genkai, they were the holders of long lost techniques that the clan had held onto for centuries. The techniques themselves appeared to be related to fuinjutsu to a degree, seeing as they used chakra ink, but their effects were far different from anything that Hiruzen had ever seen. The example given by the scroll was that a few of the techniques could be used to manipulate elements such as water, wind, fire, lightning, and even plant life to a degree. Apparently the different branches of the family specialized in the different techniques, though what most caught his attention was one branch in particular, which the other families deferred to. This branch used a technique that would create an almost genjutsu-like effect to anyone nearby. If used at night, anyone affected would see the world as if it were daytime. If it was already day, sunlight would become more intense, making everything brighter in addition to causing those affected to feel as if the temperature had increased.

Members of this branch of the family were called by the others the Royal Branch, those who could use the Sunrise technique. Those who could use Sunrise were able to learn all of the other techniques, something the other branches weren't able to do. In addition, the Sunrise users also had an interesting trait that allowed them to increase the speed that their brains processed information, allowing them to assess a situation as if time were standing still. Along with that, they could also view the immediate area around them, their bodies being the central point. This reminded him of the Byakugan used by the Hyuga, though not as powerful or widespread. It seemed to be linked to those that were of the Royal branch.

These techniques are called the Celestial Brush Techniques, and even though almost anyone can learn them, they would never gain the same amount of skill as the Okami clan or that of their vassal family. In addition to the Okami clan being brought into the village, the scroll also stated that their vassal family, The Pons, would be allowed to enter as well. Aside from stating that they were skilled in these brush techniques as well, the scroll didn't say much about them.

Further down the scroll were the terms that Minato had offered and the terms that Rasu had counter offered until they came to an agreement. Details were slim, but it did indicate that Minato had the scroll that would make the Okami clan one loyal to Konoha, meaning it was most likely located in the mountain of paperwork that he had yet to completely go through. Sighing, Hiruzen addressed the Okami clan head.

"Everything in this scroll appears to be in order, all I would have to do is find the paperwork needed to finalize the agreement Minato had made with you. I would guess that most of the details would be there, but if you don't mind me asking, what made you agree to become a clan under Konoha?"

Releasing a sigh, Rasu replied "I spent a long time traveling with my mother, just the two of us. We went wherever our funds would allow, we couldn't stay in one place for very long. After the clan broke apart, most lived as we did, just traveling from one place to another, having nothing to call home. After my mother died, I decided to seek out what family I could. The state I found most of them in could be called pitiful at best, horrendous at worst. Seeing as how I come from the Royal branch, I made it my mission to reunite my clan."

She paused to take a sip of the sake the he had offered her, "It wasn't long after I had achieved that when I received a scroll from your Yondaime offering a place in his village. I was skeptical at first, but after several letters and other forms of correspondence, he managed to convince me to bring my clan here to establish ourselves. We were delayed for few days while one of our members went into labor, if it hadn't been for that, we may have been in the village when the Nine-Tails attacked. We didn't hear about it until two days after, I can't help but think what we could have done to help if we had arrived when planned." She finished with a depressed sigh. She stared into her sake glass, as if it held a vision of a world that could've been.

Regaining her composure, she continued.

"I know that my agreement was with the Yondaime, but if it's alright with you, I would still like to bring my clan under that banner of Konoha. I have searched far and wide for a place to call home for my clan, and Konoha looks like it could be that place, despite the tragedy that occurred here."

Her words and expression touched Hiruzen, to see a single person go so far to help those of her family. Certainly a shining example of the Will of Fire that he so believed in. He would be hard pressed to deny her the agreement she had come to with his predecessor. That and he couldn't help but feel that their arrival to be that small miracle he asked for earlier. Sure, he could be a cynic and be nothing but suspicious like a certain former teammate of his, but he saw the group now known as the Okami clan. It was made up of mostly women and children and what males that were there looked more like artisans than ninjas. He did see some members of the clan that most certainly were warriors of some sort, but they were too small in number to pose a major threat.

That and the village certainly needed the numbers. They may not all become ninja, but from what he could already see, their skills with their brush techniques and in fuinjutsu could be what they need to remain strong enough to protect their home. After a few moments of thought, he gave his answer.

"Okami Rasu, I see no reason to deny this arrangement. If the Yondaime were still with us, he would've allowed you and your clan into the village without hesitation. I feel it is my responsibility to fulfil that agreement. I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, welcome the Okami Clan into the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

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And scene!

Well? What did you think? I like the idea of the Okami being a clan like the Uzumaki's, they don't have a traditional bloodline like the Uchiha or Hyuga, but what they do have is unique all the same and pretty powerful in their own right. I do have plans for many of the characters that have yet to be introduced. To just get a few things out of the way, no, this is not going to be a harem fic. Naruto is not going to get all the ladies, I like to think that he has a basic idea of what love is even if he doesn't understand it completely. Though, with my current plan, romance isn't going to happen for quite some time. I mean, not even fluff! Also, I have no idea how to even begin writing sexual moments, so I wouldn't count on any of those making an appearance in this story, maybe something that would suggest something happened off screen, but definitely no hanky panky. Trust me when I say though that this won't remain all that clean, I do intend to make things more mature than what they are now, mostly through language and violence, though the kind of violence you would expect in a story about ninjas meant to be sold to the masses. I also have a strong dislike for overly dark material, so yeah, not going that direction either.

I do realize that my writing isn't all that great, but I do know that I don't make several common writing errors that so plague many good (but mostly bad) fanfics. Right now I am sticking my toe in the water and seeing what bites... horrible analogy, but I digress. If anything I do feel that my dialogue may be a bit stiff, but I'll leave that to you dear readers to decide. Please rate and review.


	2. The Council Part One

Welcome back! I know what you're thinking, "Holy flying tree biscuits! A second chapter already!? -froth at the mouth- Ok, that's probably not what happened. The story is too new for that kind of reaction. But I did want to get more of this story out of my head and onto the internet for your enjoyment. Just a heads up though, the current plan has the these first few chapters just laden with exposition. This chapter more than others. But hey, I hope you enjoy my rough explanation for what I wrote in the summary way back when (really, it was like at midnight when I first published this story, so much has happened since then! ((I slept))). Anyway, without further ado, here's chapter two of Ink Stained Leaves!

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Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter Two

In a perfect world, no one would have questioned Hiruzen's decision to bring in the Okami Clan. Hell, for a military-state run village, his word should be as good as law. But times of peace also seem to give certain people the delusion that they have more power than they really do. If anything, they feel it is their given duty, saying that everyone must do their part to bring the village back to working order. Even if that means calling for an emergency council meeting the evening after a potentially hostile group approached the village turned out to have been invited there by the previous leader.

Hiruzen had come to hate the room that the council meetings were held in. It seemed every time he entered, the Civilian Council members would raise some form of grievance against their way of life. He was glad to be rid of them when he retired over a year ago. Alas, fate seemed to have other plans for him, plans that involved the ever complaining Civilian Council. Not that they had any real power when it concerned the security of the village, but their incessant nagging often grated on his ability to remain calm. It also didn't help that despite the Civilian Council being open to anyone who is voted into it, it was mostly made up of some of the richer members of the non-ninja villagers. Therefore, they felt that anything they said should at least be heavily considered. After the attack, they felt that their words should be heeded now more than ever.

Not being trained to handle situations such as this though meant that they often reacted without thinking of the far reaching consequences. First was their reaction to the news the Nine-Tails had been sealed into an infant. After the attack, a meeting between clan heads was held to discuss what would happen with the boy, only for it to be interrupted by the Civilian Council. How they had heard about it was still a mystery to Sarutobi, he had his suspicions but no proof. They demanded that the boy be killed for the safety of the village, fearing that the seal holding the beast would not be enough to contain it. Of course, Hiruzen put his foot down. This was a matter the firmly fell into ninja territory, something the villagers were painfully ignorant of. Cowed to a reasonable degree, the Civilian Council dropped the issue, but not before Hiruzen could forbid any of them from spreading the news about the boy to every other villager. Having to make a law that was punishable by death so that if anyone who already knew what the child contained told anyone who did not know. He hoped it bought the child a chance at a normal childhood, though he had his doubts.

Now the Civilian Council was up in arms about the inclusion of the recently arrived clan. This more than anything confused the overworked man. Why would they argue against a new clan joining the village? Granted there was merit to their claim that the village simply didn't have the supplies to care for an additional two hundred people, slight as it was. It would stretch their supplies a bit, but in the end all it would mean is that there was less to go around in the short term. Long term, there was already a deal with a nearby farming village to procure some much needed supplies as soon as they were able.

Beyond that though, Hiruzen just couldn't fathom their knee jerk reaction to kick the Okami Clan out of the village. This is why he preferred the Clan Council; at least they understood the benefits of taking in the recent addition to the village's clan ranks. Well, most of them anyway.

"Hokage-sama, we just can't allow an unknown clan to enter our village right now, they could be plants from another village." Uchiha Fugaku stated vehemently.

"We have already concluded that not to be the case Fugaku-san, they have the papers proving that their clan head was in contact with the Yondaime prior to their arrival." Aburame Shibi said with his usual monotone.

"Did you even read this report on what they're capable of Fugaku? Sure, most of them may not be ninjas, but even I would think twice about confronting one." the voice of Inuzuka Tsume loudly announced.

"Their abilities are not in question, I am well aware of what they can do. What I am concerned with is they arrived not too long after the Kyuubi attacked our village; the timing is just too convenient." Fugaku said with an edge.

Hiruzen sat in his seat, listening to the arguing Clan heads. Why the Uchiha Clan leader was so against the Okami's was not a major concern to him. His stance on the matter was final and there wasn't anything that anyone could say that would change it. All he wanted was for everyone to say what they needed to say so that he could introduce them to the newest member of the Clan Council.

"Fugaku-san, I understand your apprehension about their arrival, trust me when I say that was my first thought as well. But after meeting with Rasu-san, I could find no deception in her words or in the scroll she provided. The seal on it could have only been made by the Yondaime." Hiruzen stated.

"Rest assured that I have seen to it that the Okami Clan means no harm to our village. If you want, you can ask her any question you'd like. She's right outside."

"Ha! Finally another woman who isn't afraid to take the reins of her clan!" Tsume barked with glee.

"Please inform Okami-san that she may now enter." Hiruzen said to the Anbu at the door. Bowing, he quickly exited the room only to return a few seconds later with a woman who clearly radiated nobility.

Many breathes were caught in the throats of the Clan Heads, Rasu's regal stature clearly taking most of them by surprise. Even the Hyuga couldn't claim to produce the same degree of regality that she was displaying. Hiruzen himself was still amazed at how her mere presence seemed to instill calmness from the stressed Clan Heads. He hadn't seen them this relaxed since before the Kyuubi's attack. Even Fugaku was in awe at her presence, his expression quickly softening from righteous anger to mild shock.

Regaining his composure, Hiruzen turned from Rasu back to the Clan heads.

"My fellow council members, I would like to introduce you to Okami Rasu, Clan head of the Okami Clan. Rasu-san, if you would please."

Rasu made a quick bow to the elderly Hokage before stepping into the middle of the room, a small smile upon her face.

"I thank you Hokage-sama, I am very pleased to meet you all. As the Hokage said, I am Okami Rasu of the recently remade Okami Clan of the Royal Branch family." she started, but a stern voice interrupted her from continuing.

"Royal Branch? What right do you have to claim such a title?" Hyuga Hiashi questioned, his eyes scanning for any sign that she was anything short of forthcoming.

"I am sorry, but it very rude to ask such a thing without first introducing yourself first." Rasu countered.

Huffing, his pride taking a minor blow, Hiashi replied "I am Hyuga Hiashi, Clan Head of the Hyuga."

Out of all the clans in Konoha, the Hyuga were definitely the closest thing to royalty the village had simply because of the way they presented themselves. To say they took no small amount of pride when people said that would be an understatement. Hiashi couldn't help but feel slightly threatened by this newcomer who showed nobility though simple actions and not disciplined routine.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hyuga-san, I mean no disrespect for the title of royalty, but it is not I who named my family as such, it was the other twelve families of the Okami Clan." Rasu stated.

This took many of the other clan heads by surprise. Aside from the Hyuga, who were split into the Main and Branch Families, no other clan had that much separation amongst theirs ranks. They also didn't have one family who was in charge of the others; the title of Clan head often went to an elected individual, though it was often the strongest and most experienced ninja in the clan with the clan heir often inheriting the position. From what Rasu was telling them, the branch families simply deemed one family their Royal branch, making them the leaders of their clan.

"If you don't mind me asking," Nara Shikaku asked "what is it that makes your branch the Royal one?"

"Well, we can use the Sunrise technique." Rasu stated as if this was common knowledge.

"Ah yes, that was in the report, but what is so special about it?" questioned Yamanaka Inoichi.

"The technique in itself isn't what makes the branch special, but those that can use Sunrise all of the other techniques of the other twelve families."

"So you're saying that you can use all of the techniques used by your clan?" Shikaku asked.

"Yes and no. Yes I have the ability to use all of the techniques. No due in part because I have not learned all of the techniques. There may be other 12 branches of my clan; however, not all of them are here. There are six families that I have not yet been able to get into contact with yet."

"So you mean to say that you lied to us about having reunited your clan." Fugaku stated flatly.

"I did not lie; I honestly thought that there would be more to bringing my family back together when I started my journey. However, they proved that they wanted to reunite just as much as I did, but they had thought that the royal branch had died out." Rasu said with hint of insult in her usually lovely voice.

"And why would they think that?" This time the question was posed by Kurama Murakumo, head of the Kurama Clan.

Rasu for the first time was clearly uncomfortable with a question. This did not go unnoticed by the Clan heads; surely this could reveal a lot more about the enigmatic clan.

"I don't have all the details, but around sixty seven years ago, my grandmother Okami Shiranui fought against a warlord who you may have heard about, the Warlord Orochi."

This further intrigued the council as they had heard the story many times while growing up. According the local tales, Orochi was a clanless ninja who had gotten his hands on several powerful kinjutsu scrolls that granted him untold power that he used to gather a large following, large enough to threaten the ninja clans of the time. The story tells of a man named Nagi who challenged the warlord when he kidnapped the woman who Nagi loved. Nagi was a renowned swordsman who was said to be able to split boulders with a single blow of his sword. The battle was fierce and Nagi found that he just wasn't strong enough to face Orochi alone and it looked as though he would lose. That changed though when an enigmatic figure arrived at the battle. The story didn't go into many details on who this figure was, some stated that it was wolf sent by the gods, others claimed it was a nameless warrior who had a vendetta against Orochi. Either way, this figure's assistance was all Nagi needed to gain the upper hand in the fight. Nagi managed to slay the warlord, but the figure had vanished before he could thank them. No one knew who this figure or why they helped, but many had fun inventing different characters to fill the role. Nagi would later settle down in the newly created Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Everyone knew the story, but what Rasu was telling them was that her grandmother was the one who helped the legendary hero all those years ago.

"I am unclear on the details of why my grandmother was after Orochi, but I do know that when she managed to track him down, he was already in combat with Nagi. She managed to use her techniques in the fight to negate many of his kinjutsu, effectively making them useless, that's what gave Nagi the edge he needed to finish the fight. However, Shiranui suffered a mortal stab wound to her abdomen and she left once she saw that the fight was over." Rasu paused to take a breath.

"She managed to make it back to where the clan was at before she passed. As you can imagine, the families took it pretty hard and decided to go their own way from then on. What they didn't know was that Shiranui had a daughter. My mother was raised away from the Okami Clan, for what reason I am still looking for the answer to. I suspect it had something to do with why Shiranui was after Orochi, maybe to keep her safe. My mother never knew for sure."

"She told me all this on her deathbed and this is what spurred me to seek out the rest of my clan and reunite them as one again." Rasu finished her tale, much to the awe of the council.

Inoichi spoke next, "So she revealed this story to you before she passed. That explains your desire for family, after losing your mother, it would be expected." Rasu nodded sadly in agreement.

"A wonderful story, but do you have proof?" Fugaku asked, though his tone was softer than it was when the meeting first started. His question was a reasonable one.

"I do in fact." Rasu stated as she once again reached into her sleeve, making sure to do so slowly as to not agitate the ninja.

When she pulled her hand out, she was holding what appeared to be an ancient mirror with a stylized sun symbol on it's face. Though when they took a closer look, they realized that she wasn't holding it all, it seemed to float between her hands.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to show you my grandmother's final battle." Rasu said as she made the mirror float into the middle of the room.

Light began to flicker into existence around the mirror edges as it started to spin. The light began to twist and turn until familiar shapes took form. What lay before them was what looked like three combatants going head to head. One was in intimidating armor with snake and dragon motifs. The other was a modest looking man with a beard and simple armor wielding a sword. The last figure was definitely female, whose features reminded them of the woman they were currently talking to. She was wielding what appeared to be another mirror that seemed to have flames coming out of it.

The figures for the man and woman would charge at the armored figure striking whenever he was dealing with the other. The armored figure would try to launch off attacks, but the woman would do something that would interrupt him. It continued on like this until the figure that could only be Orochi managed to land a hit on the woman, knocking her away a good distance. This however left him wide open to an attack from behind, delivered by Nagi. The woman's figure could be seen slipping away from fallen warlord while Nagi tried to recover from his exhaustion. With that, the memory was over.

The Hokage, as well as the clan heads, could only wonder in awe at what they had just witnessed. Hiruzen couldn't help but feel that what he just saw wasn't anything but the absolute truth; something about it just seemed to defy any attempt to label it as false. Looking at the council, he could see that they were all having similar thoughts.

With the memory over, Rasu recalled the mirror and returned it to her sleeve, while turning to look at every person in the room before returning her gaze back the Hokage.

"I hope that was adequate enough to convince you Uchiha-san." She said with hopeful look on her face.

Fugaku couldn't find any words to help him describe what he just saw, so he just nodded his head in agreement.

"Now, I would like to continue saying that I have managed to get six of the branch families back under one clan by simply showing them that I possessed the ability to use Sunrise. Once they saw that, they knew that the Okami Clan was still alive. I merely had to track them down. Though, it hasn't been easy, they spread out to some rather distant and obscure areas. The final six families have been the hardest to track down and I would've continued looking for them, but the other families insisted that I rest easy and allow them to continue my search."

"This leads me to where I was when the Yondaime contacted me; trying to find a place to call home. I know that with the techniques my clan has, we would be either highly sought after for our skills or targeted for them. I don't know how the Yondaime knew about my predicament, which is why I wasn't just willing to accept his offer up front. It was only after I had been speaking with him for months that I finally decided that Konoha would be the best place for my clan to live."

Hiruzen shifted in his seat, thinking on how he had made the right choice in letting the Okami Clan set up in Konoha, well, more like continuing the Yondaime's choice. There were still questions that needed answering though.

"Well, unless anyone has anything else to say about Rasu's history, does anyone have further questions?"

"I do." Fugaku said as his earlier stare of distrust had turned to one of hungry curiosity. "You mentioned one technique, the Sunrise, but what are the other ones alluded to. You said that each branch specializes in one, would you mind giving us a brief explanation on what they are?"

"I would have to agree with Fugaku's question, I'm also curious about these techniques." Tsume said in agreement.

"I think we would all like to hear about these techniques." said a voice from the back of the room.

It was at this time that a figure that had been lurking at the back of the room made his presence known. Hiruzen had been hoping that this figure would remain silent, but you can only receive so many miracles in one day.

Shimaro Danzo stepped closer to Rasu, the bandages on his face causing her to wonder kind of injury he had underneath them. If she felt intimidated by his harsh stare, she gave no sign of it.

Danzo of course had his own thoughts going through his head. After his initial thoughts of suspicion had been quelled by her forthcoming nature, he began to think about the benefits having the Okami under Konoha control could bring him. More than anyone in the room, he was the most curious to hear about these brush techniques of the Okami Clan.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Rasu began speaking "Of course, I am more than willing to tell you about them. The 13 Tenku No Burashi are a collection of ancient techniques passed down through the generations of my family. From what we can figure out, they came before fuinjutsu. In fact, we believe fuinjutsu may have been created by people trying to emulate what our techniques could do, though with little success. Instead they found that fuinjutsu allowed for different effects from what we do."

"You already know about Sunrise, you know it has a genjutsu like effect, which is unbreakable by the way. Next we have Rejuvenation; it can be used to repair broken things and restore damaged landscapes. For those who have truly mastered the art, the technique can even be used to heal people."

The mention of the Rejuvenation technique got the attention of the council. An outburst of questions drowned out anything else Rasu may have been saying. The shouting went on for a few minutes when Hiruzen lost patience.

"ENOUGH!" he shouted, releasing a bit of his killing intent to get the councils attention. Silence quickly ensued.

"I think what many are trying to ask you Rasu-san, is if what you say is true, could this technique do anything to help the village with repairs?" he asked, trying hard not to sound desperate.

She thought for but a moment before replying. "I don't see why not, it would be rather rude of us to withhold that kind of service to the village that is taking us in. Though you would have to wait for a bit, as my clan has traveled far and need to rest for the night at least."

A quiet murmur circulated the room as each member could only think of acquiring the services of one of these Rejuvenation users to help with the repairs of the Clan districts. Some weren't even damaged during the Kyuubi's attack, just years of disrepair and neglect in some cases. Others were thinking of the potential healing properties that were mentioned, though it was said that only one who had truly mastered the technique could do so and they were unsure if such an individual was amongst the Okami ranks.

Seeing that the council was aptly distracted, Hiruzen figured that a break would be in order.

"Alright, alright, quiet down everyone. I think that we should continue this meeting tomorrow morning. It's clear that we all have a lot of information to digest and Rasu-san is right, she and her clan have traveled far, it is only right that we allow her to get some rest as well. We will reconvene tomorrow at 9 AM. You are all dismissed. Rasu-san, if you would follow me. I will show you where you can stay for the time being."

"If it's alright with you Hokage-sama, I would prefer to go to where my people are. Reassure them that everything is being taken care of." she said in response to his offer.

Seeing no reason not to allow this, he merely nodded.

"I will see you tomorrow Rasu-san, have a pleasant evening."

"You as well Hokage-sama." she said while giving a quick bow before she left the room.

It had been a long day, but after everything, things were finally starting to look up.

* * *

And Scene!

Yes, all of the exposition! Get it out of the way so that we can focus on the important things in life, like learning how to use a sword or killing a man with our bare hands! Oh wait, that's the characters in the story. Not us, the readers and writers, don't kill a man with your bare hands, in some places it's called murder and you could go to someplace called prison where you will become a prison bitch. Don't become a prison bitch! Where was I again? Oh right. I am trying to get the messy details of how the Naruto and Okami worlds work here. What I am trying to achieve here is having the Okamiverse mesh well with the Narutoverse by altering the history a little bit, at least in regards to the Okamiverse. As you may have already noticed, Amaterasu isn't really herself and I'll tell you why. She has effectively been split into separate characters, three to be exact. You've met Rasu, the Okami Clan Head. You've heard about Shiranui, Rasu's grandmother. The next character will hopefully be introduced in the next chapter and she will be the embodiment of the Amaterasu we've all come to know and love! That one won't be as heavy with exposition as this one, or I could be a dirty liar and make it twice as heavy with exposition. We'll wait and see what happens. As for other characters from both worlds, I have plans, lots and lots of plans.

Until next time! Please review!


	3. The Council Part Two

Hello dear readers! I apologize, I had intended for this chapter to be out weeks ago, but a combination of school, work, and writers block got in the way. To make up for it, I present nearly 8000 words for your reading pleasure. Not counting my blathering here and the end notes.

A quick shout out to the four people who have commented on my story so far.

To Shadowknightreaper, Guest, and bladetri: I'm glad you guys think that my story is great so far :) I hope to improve and get better at story telling through this. For you guys.

To Guest 907: Yeah, this is my first time writing something to this extent, so fully expect to see more awkward exposition for the foreseeable future. I'm also glad that you think it's not enough to completely ruin my story yet XD. Your comment is the exact kind that I need to improve on my writing, keep em coming! Tell me what I'm doing wrong so that I may correct those mistakes!

I do not own either Naruto or Okami.

* * *

Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter 3

The Council Part Two

People's minds seem to flip on a coin it would appear, seeing how fast the council members changed theirs upon hearing the news of what the Okami clan was capable of. That's what Hiruzen thought anyway upon arriving at the meeting the next morning. Word of what Rasu had told the Shinobi council the previous evening had spread like wildfire through the village and of course had gotten to the Civilian council as well. This meeting almost seemed to be a moot point at the moment, as nearly everyone was clamoring for the Okami clan to join the village.

' _We haven't even heard about the rest of the techniques they have yet.'_ Hiruzen thought to himself.

This much was true, as Rasu had yet to arrive for the meeting, though this was understandable as he had told her 9 AM, it was only 8:50. He had arrived early because he had heard that the Civilian council was on the war path and he figured that he better go to put out the fire before the Okami clan head had to deal with their idiocy. Turns out he would be pleasantly surprised to discover that they had heard about the Rejuvenation technique and how it could possibly fix the building of the village.

That alone seemed to quell the objections that he was sure to be an issue when the clan had first arrived. They weren't present at the meeting yesterday as their attendance was not required for what amounted to Shinobi business. He would've been happy to not have to deal with them today either, but so long as they weren't fighting his decision on this he didn't care.

Of course, now he had to listen to them argue amongst themselves for which part of the village would be repaired first. Some wanted the businesses fixed first, others wanted residential areas repaired, it never even occurred to them that maybe they should finish accepting the Okami's into the village first.

' _Greedy as always.'_ The old Hokage thought with contempt. _'Though, I can't really blame them this time; the sooner the village is repaired the better. It's only a matter of time before the other villages send scouts to look into our current state.'_

Looking around, Hiruzen saw the Shinobi council as they conversed amongst themselves; he heard things such as tactics, teams, and possible marriages. His gaze fell upon his two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Their absence from yesterday's meeting had confused Hiruzen somewhat, as they usually stick their noses in everything he does that concerns the village. Turns out that Homura had been in the next town over negotiating for supplies and Koharu had been tending to her family at the time. Since Danzo had been present, Hiruzen figured that the old war hawk had kept them in the loop. Since Danzo also saw the benefits of having the Okami clan join Konoha, it must not have been hard to sway the two councilors to agree.

Danzo himself was secluded away from the rest of the council in a shadowy corner, simply observing the others, more than likely gauging the balance of the room and calculating when the best time to step in would be, should he need to.

 _'Rasu should be here soon.'_ No sooner had he thought those words, an Anbu appeared at his side informing him of her arrival. Though, she wasn't alone.

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen questioned the Anbu.

"She has brought some of her clan with her Hokage-sama. I do not know why." the Anbu stated simply.

The aged Hokage took a few puffs from his pipe, pondering on what this could mean.

' _What are you planning?'_ Hiruzen wondered.

"Show them inside. We will see what she has in mind."

"Hai." The Anbu bowed and did as ordered.

It wasn't too long before Rasu entered the chamber followed by seven of her clan. It was fairly obvious they were such. They all had the same pale skin and white hair. Their eyes on the other hand were different from each other, though none were as noticeable as Rasu's vibrant red eyes, being more natural shades.

The first was a tall man who appeared to be older than the Hokage, though it wasn't anything like his hair that told anyone this. It was more his face that showed his years, the wrinkles speaking of a life lived. His facial hair also hinted at this, as it reminded many of an old wise man on a mountain. He didn't slouch or stoop, his posture refined as any nobleman. On his back he carried what appeared to be a large scroll, its purpose currently unknown.

The next man was considerably shorter than the first, if it wasn't for the way he carried himself, one could mistake him for a boy. He had a mousey quality about him that made many of the women in the room fight to hold back a desire to fawn over him. On the other hand though, it was clear he was a seasoned warrior, if the scars that could be seen on his arms were of any indication. He also showed no hint of being intimidated by the presence of so many powerful ninja in one room.

Following him was a rather rotund man, though much like the Chouza's one could tell that he had plenty of muscle under his shirt. His face wasn't very serious, despite the atmosphere of the room, he appeared to be quite cheerful. For some reason many noticed the smell of sulfur around the man, though nothing they noticed could tell them why.

Next to him was a woman who had a lithe form, hard to miss considering she was wearing a skin tight top and combat shorts. With the exception of the shorter man, she appeared to be one of the youngest present in the group. She wore her hair short and manageable, though it hid her left eye. Her uncovered eye stood out among her features as it was a striking shade of blue, reminding Hiruzen of the rivers of Hi no Kuni.

Behind her was a man of average height, his hair looking like it was trying to escape from the ties that he put it in. He wore large open clothing, more for relaxing than anything else, which appeared to flutter even though there wasn't a draft in the room. He seemed relaxed and calm, though just looking at his eyes told one that he was prepared for anything.

The next man definitely stood out as he was the only one who had a noticeable different hairstyle. He had trimmed his hair on the sides, leaving a strip in the center of his head. The hair here was fire red in color, whether it dyed or natural no one could tell. In his mouth was a long ornately decorated pipe, though it didn't appear to be lit currently. Hiruzen didn't know why, but he felt he could get along with this person.

The last man was short, though not as much as the youthful looking man, and more rotund than the sulfur guy. He had large bushy eyebrows that went off to the sides. His head was bald on top with it flaring out along the sides of his head. He wore probably the most regal looking outfit of the bunch, next to Rasu of course. His kimono was a deep navy blue, with light blues acting as accents. His expression looked as though he was taking pride something, though no one could currently tell what that was. Hiruzen suspected this man may hold a position of authority within the Okami clan, if his demeanor was anything to go off of.

Rasu herself was at the front, her outfit changed to a white kimono with red accents, no flame motif this time, with a red obi. Her hair was in a looser style than yesterday, though no less extravagant, her hair in a style usually done up for grand events. As should be expected by now, her appearance had quite an effect on the occupants of the room, especially the Civilian council as this would be their first time seeing her.

The Okami clan members all filed into the chamber and settled into the middle of the room, standing at attention like well-trained warriors, even the man in the navy kimono. Rasu approached the Hokage's stand.

"Good morning Rasu-san." The Hokage started, "Might I ask why you have brought some of your clan with you today?"

"Of course Hokage-sama, when I returned to my clan last evening, my advisors suggested to me that it might be best if instead of simply telling you about our clan techniques, we show you what they are able to do. With me I have brought the masters of six of our techniques."

Rasu gestured to the older man with the scroll. He stepped forward.

"Hokage-sama, my name Is Okami Yomi, I am a master of the Rejuvenation brush technique." the now identified Yomi said respectfully as he bowed before the Hokage. And so followed the rest as they introduced themselves.

"I am Okami Tachi, master of the Power Slash brush technique." Said the youthful looking man.

"Okami Baku, at your service Hokage-sama, master of the Cherry Bomb brush technique." said the man who smelled of sulfur.

"A pleasure Hokage-sama, I'm Okami Nure, master of the Waterspout brush technique." the lithe woman spoke.

"Okami Kaze Hokage-sama, master of the Galestorm brush technique."

"Call me Moe, master of the Inferno brush technique." the fiery headed man stated.

After giving their introductions, the group stood back once again allowing their clan head to step forward.

"As you heard, these individuals are all masters of their respective family techniques and often act as my advisors in matters involving the whole clan." she said with pride in her voice.

Hiruzen turned his gaze to the man in the navy kimono, "And who might you be, I noticed that she said six brush masters and yet there are seven of you here with her."

"Right you are Hokage-sama, I am not a master of any of the brush techniques, nor can I wield any of them properly. My name is Okami Michi and my position is Rasu-sama's primary advisor, I offer guidance and wisdom whenever she needs it."

"It was at their suggestion that I allow them to come to this meeting and offer a practical viewing of our clans techniques to prove that our clan as valuable to Konoha." she said.

"Yeah, you got a spot where we can let loose?" Moe asked, ready to show what he could do.

Most of the master began to speak, each also asking to present their specialties. Only Yomi appeared to be calm and collected, which soon spread to the others even though he didn't say anything.

Stepping forward once again, he addressed the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I know that everyone is eager to see what our clan can do, but if it's alright with you, I would like to see what there is that I can do to help with repairs." he said soberly.

This caused the council to remember why they were so excited a bit ago, the repairs that they wanted to see be made. Of course, this immediately led to an argument over what would be fixed first by council members.

Hiruzen, foreseeing this as soon as the subject was remembered, already had a location in mind.

"Enough, I know that you all are in a hurry to have your properties repaired as soon as possible, but there are more urgent locations that require fixing before." he said, "Now, Yomi-san, if it is alright with you, would you repair the damage done to the portion of our outer wall?"

"Of course Hokage-sama." Yomi said without hesitation.

"Then for the purposes of this demonstration, let us all make our way to the wall."

* * *

The trip to the damaged section of the wall was largely uneventful, though Hiruzen was already ready to call it day, as his patience was being tested once again by the Civilian council, more accurately its more vocal members. They of course were the better off ones, who had vested interest in getting their properties repaired village security be damned.

How the aged leader wished that he could just be rid of the lot of them. Unfortunately, their disappearances would not help the village as it was now. Best to see how well Yomi's technique did before he decided anything else.

Once the group had reached the wall, Yomi, followed by Rasu, inspected the damage.

"Do you think you can manage it?" asked the Okami head.

"…" Yomi inspected a little bit more before he spoke, "It's doable, though I'll most likely tire myself out."

"I'll leave you to it then." Rasu retreated back to join the rest of the group.

"So how does this work?" Fugaku asked, a hint of skepticism present in his voice.

"Watch." was all Rasu said. "I'll have Yomi explain after you see what he can do."

The Master of Rejuvenation had pulled a bottle from inside his robes which he promptly removed the lid to. Making a quick gesture with his free hand, a shimmering vertical plane appeared in front of the aged Okami. He aligned it to be directly in his line of sight towards the damaged wall as he prepared a brush in his free hand. With a small moment of preparation, Yomi shot his brush into the bottle, now shown to be filled with ink, which he then brought to the plane. To an untrained eye, it appeared as though he was just smearing the ink liberally over the floating plane with no apparent reason.

Just as soon as he started, he was done, though to the Konoha residents it seemed as if nothing had been done. Before any could voice their displeasure, the ink floating in the air vanished, only to appear again as a black mist over the broken barrier. It fluttered for a few seconds before quickly concentrating into a solid shape. Soon the ink itself vanished entirely, and much to the shock of everyone present who wasn't a celestial brush master, the damaged parts of the wall were now gone as though the wall had never been damaged at all.

The group was shocked at how quickly the wall had been repaired, some thought that it was all just a trick and tried to dispel whatever genjutsu had just been placed on them, but this was in vain as there was nothing to dispel. The Okami clan members just stood there, proud smiles adorning their faces. Yomi on the other hand, looked as though he had just run a lap around the village, sweat gathering on his brow and his breathing a little ragged.

"Are you alright Yomi-san?" Rasu asked the aged master.

"I am well Rasu-sama, just not as young as I used to be." he managed to breathe out.

Nure pulled a canteen from her pouch and handed it to Yomi. "Here, take a drink, you look like you need it." she said.

"Thank you Nure-san." Yomi said before he took a generous swig.

By the time he was done drinking, the rest of the group had managed to regain their senses. They knew that Rejuvenation could repair things, but they didn't think that it could be done so quickly or so efficiently. They expected it to take at least some time, not a few scant moments.

"How does this technique work?" Fugaku asked first, "I have never seen anything like this before."

"I wouldn't expect so, most have never seen any of our clan use their abilities to this extent. There is a reason why I am considered a master of the technique, not many can do what I just did." Yomi answered, "As for how it works, we are not entirely sure on the specifics beyond knowing that they work. We suspect that Rejuvenation works on a time-space level, restoring an object to a point in time when it wasn't broken or missing. The less time that has passed makes it easier to **fix** , though there have been cases where something has been broken for years and was repaired with no problems."

This got attention of many of ninja present as they all knew of a ninja that used a time-space technique and he was considered the most powerful ninja of all time. Now that they had seen this particular power the Okami clan wielded, they were even more eager to see what other abilities they had at their disposal.

"You said it can restore what is broken or missing, what do you mean by missing?" Shibi inquired.

"Missing, lost, displaced, the technique restores it to the location it was known to be last. Don't ask me how it does that, maybe Kami reaches down through the ink and places it there, we don't know." this time answered by Moe, "Trust me when I say that it makes finding my house keys a breeze. Of course the drawback is that you need to have a clear idea of where the item was last seen. If you can't picture it then the technique fails."

"Well said young Moe." Yomi said.

"We were told that Rejuvenation could possibly heal, how does that work?" this time the question coming from a civilian, most likely one that worked at the hospital.

"Again, healing with Rejuvenation takes a lot more work than repairing a wall. Living things are far more complex than a damaged wooden beam. To heal with it, you have to have a clear understanding of how the area you are healing works in order to make proper repairs. So training in the medical field is a must, which I just so happen to have. Next you of course need impeccable chakra control, the ink we use is merely a means to extend our chakra greater distances and it still requires control to deal with finer things. That being said though, I have done my fair share of healing the broken and beaten. Another reason I am a master of the technique."

"Though, it does have its limits. Rejuvenation can't fix everything and some things are just beyond my power to repair." Yomi's gaze shifted to beyond what any could see, clearly a memory of a lost life. "As to what those limits are, I am not at liberty to reveal everything. I'm sure that even you clans already here haven't revealed everything about how your clan techniques work."

This got a few of the clan members to look somewhere other than at the aged Okami, as what he said was true. Even though their clans had revealed much of how their techniques and abilities worked to whichever Hokage was in charge, they most certainly didn't give everything away. Ninjas had to always have secrets after all.

"What was that shimmering we saw? The one you painted the ink onto?" this question presented by Tsume.

"Some other time maybe, at the moment I think it is something that should remain need to know." Rasu answered.

At this time it could be seen that Tachi was getting antsy, as his hand kept reaching for a blade that wasn't there. Noticing this, Hiruzen felt that they should move on with the demonstration.

"I think it's time we moved onto the other techniques. Tachi-san, if you would be so kind."

"Finally!" Tachi took a quick look around, searching for the perfect target to show his skill. A small grin was all that was needed to see he had found one.

"See that tree right there?" he said pointing in the direction of the supposed target.

Everyone saw a tree that was a little distance away, wondering why they should be noticing it in the first place.

Tachi summoned forth the glimmering plane and quickly slashed a line of ink over it, so quick no one noticed when he even drew his brush and no one saw him pull an ink bottle.

Nearly as soon as his plane vanished the tree in the clearing had its top half sliced clean off by an unseen force. The top of the tree toppled to the ground with a thunderous crash, leaves blown off its branches.

"I'm not impressed, I've seen others do similar things with a blade." this comment coming from Hiashi.

"You're looking at the wrong tree." Tachi said with a mischievous tone.

At his words everyone looked beyond the tree in the clearing. What they saw caused a few breathes to catch. Far behind the clearing tree was a much taller tree that had been slashed through. If one had to guess how far away, a close estimation would be little less than a mile away.

"That is the power of Power Slash, like Yomi here, I have mastered this technique to the point where few can match me in sheer distance when cutting through things. Though I have heard a legend among our clan of an ancestor of ours cutting off the top of a mountain from 5 miles out. For me it gets tough to cut through things when I can't properly see it, so line of sight is important."

Once again, thoughts of potential uses went through several heads. Being able to cut through something from that kind of distance would make assassinations perfe…

"Though, before anyone gets any bright ideas, Power Slash has trouble cutting living things."

And there goes that train of thought.

"But why?" a civilian council member asked.

Tachi shrugged, "I dunno, it just does. One thing you'll find with our techniques is that most of them have a hard time actually causing direct harm to living beings. At best I could probably cut through a person's clothing or their hair as that stuff isn't living. The most the person is likely to feel is a particularly harsh movement over their skin. Plant life doesn't seem to count though as I can cut through plants just fine, though I try to be careful most of the time, no one likes it when I cut down their yard."

It seemed that not being able to cause direct harm to a target was one of the limits that the Okami's had with their techniques. This revelation disappointed many, but still, their abilities are powerful. If one couldn't directly assault a target, there was always the environment. Bringing down a building on top of your target from afar still could have the same results as slitting their throat. As ninja, it was in their training to come up with different solutions to the problems they faced.

A cough caught everyone's attention. Baku was standing in a clearing, his brush out and already saturated with ink. It seems that they were about to see what Cherry Bomb was capable of.

"If it's all the same to everyone, I would like to get along with our demonstration. It would help move things along greatly if we didn't stop for twenty questions every time we show something."

Not wasting any time, Baku turned around and quickly had his brush go over the mysterious plane that the clan used to work their techniques. Rather than the smearing of Rejuvenation or the quick line of Power Slash, Cherry Bomb seemed to require a little more work to get its result. Baku had made 3 circles with little lines sticking out of them on his plane before he dismissed it.

As it vanished, three objects had materialized in the clearing. To everyone there, it was clear that they appeared to be very large cherry bombs, the kind older children often were seen playing with. Their fuses were burning fairly rapidly, reaching the main bodies in little time. Unlike children's cherry bombs, these Cherry Bombs exploded with lethal power, gouging large holes into the earth.

Despite how impressive this display was, it was hardly all different that some of the jutsus that were already used in the village. Some were prepared to voice this, though it seems that Baku had foreseen their skepticism as he had prepared another plane and had already drawn out something on it.

This turned out to be a massive Cherry Bomb, it had to be at least thirty feet tall. To say the least, to have such a large explosive placed that close to them, a few civilians panicked. The usually shouts of dismay were expected as were the ones that fainted. What Baku hadn't expected were the edges of various blades that appeared at many of his vital spots before he could even tell anyone that the Bomb wasn't lit.

"Ummm… I surrender?" was all the Cherry Bomb master could utter.

A chuckle was heard coming from the Hokage, as he had noticed that the construct wasn't about to explode, but apparently this had gone unnoticed by his subordinates.

"I think you can all stand down, clearly Baku-san merely meant to show that he could make more impressive explosives that put many of what we have to shame. If you all turn your attention to the fuse, you'll notice that it isn't lit."

The ninja who had reacted all sheepishly lowered their blades, all but one.

"What were you thinking producing such an explosive in the proximity to the Hokage?!" Hiashi all but shouted at the Okami.

"First, the bomb isn't primed; even if the fuse was lit it wouldn't explode with any kind of dangerous force. Second, while all of you were thinking of ways to slice the heads off of assassination targets I had told the Hokage what I was going to do." Baku said, "I really hate to have to repeat that I have mastered this technique and that no one nearby has been in any kind of danger from my bombs."

"Hmph." was all that Hiashi said before he made his way back to join the others.

"Never a quiet moment around your clan is there Rasu-san?" Hiruzen commented.

"Not since I've been around them, no." Rasu replied.

Nure took this as her cue to step forward.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to show what I am capable of next if you don't mind."

"Proceed Nure-san."

"Hai."

The young Okami woman took a few brisk steps away from the group while pulling out a scroll. Unrolling the scroll onto the ground, she proceeded to produce a fairly large container of water from it. The container itself appeared to be a round flask large enough to fit a person inside of with gold filigree lining the bottom in a pattern reminiscent of waves crashing. Nure pulled a large cork stopper from the mouth of the flask and then pushed it over, releasing all of the water that was inside out.

Nure then made the usual plane and began to create a rather intricate pattern on it, more a work of art than any used by the previous Okami's. Dismissing her plane, the water on the ground sprang forth and danced through the air as it began to copy the pattern that she had made on her plane. The water then made its way back into the flask, causing it to stand back up and was then corked by Nure.

"I know that what I just showed you may not be as impressive as some of the water jutsu that are out there. What set the Waterspout technique apart from them however, is that I can manipulate water even if it is being used in a jutsu. As I am the master of this technique, I can exert a large amount of control over water, especially if it's already infused with chakra."

Now that was interesting to know, as many could not really do anything about a jutsu once it was launched at a target. If what she said was true, then that meant she could potentially veer a jutsu off course or even make it turn back on its user.

"Is that all you can do? Or are you holding out?" Fugaku asked.

"There is more that I can do with Waterspout, though its effects are large scale and I really don't want to cause any unnecessary damage. My control over water is nearly on par with those from Kiri, though I can do things that they can't, just as they can do things that I can't. I may not be able to make a water dragon, but I can turn that dragon back on its master."

"She can also neutralize fire jutsus provided she has a steady supply of water nearby, I should know, she constantly puts out my fires." Moe quipped, "And just so everyone knows, Inferno works in a manner similar to Waterspout. I can manipulate flames through the use of my ink, even those caused by jutsus. With that in mind, I probably won't be showing you guys mine, as you already saw the gist of it through Nure's Waterspout."

While some were disappointed, it did make sense, if that's all it was they would most likely just be wasting their time seeing what amounted to a rehash of a technique they already saw.

"I guess that just leaves me then." Kaze said sheepishly. Stepping into the clearing, Kaze prepared his brush, summoning his plane in front of him. He made three quick slashes stacked atop each other. The effects were immediate as a large tornado formed around the Okami.

Moe seemed to react to an unseen cue as he released a Fireball jutsu into the roaring winds generated by Kaze, turning the twister into a towering inferno. The flames were rising into the air when Kaze made a motion, causing a burst of wind to burst upward, pushing the flames up. As the flames neared the top of the twister, they exploded outward in an impressive display.

After the fire vanished, Kaze let his winds die down into nonexistence. Turning back to the awed group, he looked as though he was going to say something before he noticed that one of his sleeves as still on fire.

What no one was expecting was a girlish scream as Kaze proceeded to run about in a circle, flailing his immolated arm trying to extinguish the flames. Nure simply face palmed before shooting a simple water jutsu towards her cousin. Properly doused, Kaze regained his composure, almost as if he didn't just scream like a little girl.

"I apologize, was not expecting that to happen."

Most of the council members couldn't help but sweatdrop from this display of indignity. He was a grown man for crying out loud.

Coughing, Kaze continued to speak, "Galestorm for the most part generates winds. I can use these winds to push things around the battlefield. I can affect jutsus as well as thrown weapons. I can control the direction of these winds and how intense they are. What you just witnessed was a sub-technique known as Whirlwind, originally used as a defensive maneuver, I discovered that you can make it more offensive by adding even a simple fire jutsu to it."

"As you can see, our clans Brush techniques are powerful, even with their limitations. Like any other ninja skill, they are reliant on how much chakra the user has. The Okami clan itself is blessed with large chakra reserves which we are able to replenish fairly quickly." Michi said, "On average I'd say that our ninja are able to completely replenish theirs reserves in about half a day after they've completely exhausted their chakra. Though individual effects still vary, some may get their chakra back, but still require bed rest. Others are good to go after they regain their chakra. Also, we are not limited to using just our Brush techniques, we are well versed in the usage of other jutsus. Nure here has an arsenal of water jutsus she uses to assist with her Waterspout. Same for Moe with fire jutsus."

"The Okami clan members you've met today are all masters of their respective techniques and we have many other trained ninja in our ranks that can use their families Brush techniques that would be more than willing to become members of Konoha's shinobi forces." Michi finished.

Rasu picked up where he left off, "As you all noticed, our clan is at one-hundred ninety-four strong, with eighty-seven of them trained in combat, those you've meant today included. As much as I hate to point it out, but Konoha is in dire need of ninja right now. My clan is in need of a home. I'm sure I don't have to point out the mutual benefits that can be gained here. If any of you have any qualms about my clan joining Konoha, I ask that you please reconsider."

* * *

Back in the council chamber, minus the Okami clan members, a final discussion was being made. Though why that was happening still confused the Hokage as he had already made it clear that he was going to allow the Okami's to stay regardless of how the vote turned out. Same for the ninja clans, even if some of them were still proceeding cautiously.

"Hokage-sama, I still don't understand why you would simply allow an unknown clan to join without input from the council." Fugaku was still being stick in the mud, "What if they aren't sincere in their goal?"

"I've already stated, Rasu-san had been in communication with the Yondaime, he was the one who put forth the invitation for her clan to join Konoha. I checked the scroll myself when they got here. We would not be having this meeting right now if the Kyuubi attack had never happened. If it makes you feel better, I can put forth a vote, though the result of it matters little as I still plan to let them join. It's the least I can do to honor the Yondaime's wishes."

This statement appeared to quell the Uchiha's ire, for now anyway.

"Of course Hokage-sama." Fugaku responded simply.

"I for one welcome our new pack mates!" Tsume all but cheered, "I look forward to this new alliance and it'll be nice to have another female clan head in these stuffy meetings. Maybe she can help me knock some sense into your thick skulls!"

"I agree it will be nice to welcome a new clan into our ranks." Inoichi commented, "I am interested about this ability that their royal branch have in increasing their brains processing speed. This could mean much for my clan's research into the mind."

"Their skills and abilities would be most useful to Konoha, in addition to the ninja they promised us. We are in dire need of numbers." Shibi stated flatly.

"The tactical benefits that their techniques offer is too useful to ignore, if we don't take them in, they would take their clan to another village. They are looking for a home after all. It would be more troublesome to have them join another village." Shikaku mentioned bluntly.

"I don't really see no reason not to let them join the village, they seem a cheerful bunch." was all Choza said.

Hiashi was the only one who had yet to make any kind of comment so far. This got Hiruzen's attention as he was usually not one to hold back on his opinion.

"Your thoughts on this Hiashi-san?"

Hiashi didn't immediately offer his opinion. It was a few seconds of careful thought before he said anything.

"Hokage-sama, if I may be honest. I feel that my clan may be threatened by these Okami. For what reason I cannot properly define, it is a gut feeling that I am unable to shake."

Now that got many of the ninja's attention. It wasn't just anything that would cause the normally stoic Hyuga to admit to being threatened. His clans pride wouldn't allow just anything to make them feel inferior.

"Hmm, I think I can take a guess as to what it is that makes you so uncomfortable with the clan. Tell me Hiashi, did you feel this gut feeling when you met the other Okami's?" Tsume asked.

"I did not."

"And what about Rasu-san?" a wicked grin displayed on Tsume's face.

Hiashi face took on a flushed color for but a second. Regaining his composure he responded "How dare you even insinuate that!" he started.

"Now now Hiashi, I didn't mean it like that, but you have to admit that was too easy. What I meant was that she pulled off more grace and elegancy than anyone else in this village could do in a hundred years. Your clan seems to think itself royalty even though no clan in the fire nation holds such a position. If I had to guess you simply don't like the fact that she out shines your clans nobility without even trying."

Hiashi couldn't say anything to that, as it was how he was feeling but refused to admit to himself. He had brought his thoughts to his wife and she had simply waved his concerns off and told him to stop worrying. He had more pressing concerns, such as what to name their child when it was born and the repairs that needed to be done to the compound.

"I suppose that could be the case, though I am still not comfortable with it." was all the Hyuga said.

All around the room other clan heads voiced their desire for the Okami clan to join. The Civilian council had pretty much agreed unanimously that the new clan should be allowed to join and with that said went off to take care their individual businesses. Even Homura, Koharu, and Danzo had agreed. With the exception of Fugaku and Hiashi, though the Hyuga had apparently been talked into changing his mind, the vote was pretty clear.

"Then by my order, the Okami clan are now officially accepted as a clan of Konoha."

* * *

After being told the outcome of the councils meeting, Rasu left the building making her way towards where her clan were currently taking up residence, a park near the wall where they had set up a series of tents that would be their temporary living quarters until a lot could be found where they could make more permanent living spaces.

Rasu headed directly for a house that had been quickly constructed while she was away on her first meeting with the Hokage. She eyed it with a degree of distaste.

' _Don't know why everyone insisted that I take this over a tent, I lived in a tent for months, I don't need a freaking house right now.'_ were the thoughts going through her mind at the moment.

Seriously though, the clan had just finished a long journey, she had given explicit orders for everyone to rest and what do they do? They build a house. Sure it wasn't a very big house, single bedroom, living room, a kitchen, even a bathroom complete with tub and shower. How they got their hands on those things she would never know. She didn't even want to know how they got the plumbing working in the few scant hours she was gone. She knew that they did so out of obligation to her status, but she already told them repeatedly that they didn't have to. They said they understood, then went right on treating her the same way they had before. It grated on her nerves to no end.

Rasu was not raised to be a noble, she grew up traveling from town to town in a small cart. She did not need to be treated like royalty. The very thought of being noble made Rasu cringe. The fact that she was the head of the Okami clan was already too much for the young Okami.

One of the reasons why the clan just didn't outright accept the Yondaime's invitation to join Konoha had been to better train their clan head in the ways of nobility and elegance. Doing so would provide them with a better position to negotiate from. Rasu really didn't understand why, as she was good at reading people, even if it was through a letter, she could tell that the Yondaime had been sincere about his offer. Of course, that wasn't the only reason, just the one that they could control.

Upon entering the house her clan built for her, Rasu shed out of the stuffy clothes she had been forced to wear all day. She held no love for the overly elegant kimono, preferring the simple tunic and leggings she normally wore. She also got rid of the hair decorations that were keeping her hair up and styled. How she detested the extravagant style her advisors made her wear. A simple ponytail was all she needed, why they made her wear her hair up made no sense at all. As soon as she had gotten into more comfortable clothing, Rasu made her way to the kitchen which was fully stocked with everything but the one thing she desired. Booze.

' _I know why they said I couldn't have any for now, but come on! I think I could be trusted to at least have a bottle around for emergencies!'_ she thought in dismay.

The Okami clan head settled for the juice that had been put in the icebox. Taking her glass to the living room she sat down to relax after a long day. Of course, the life of a clan head is never that easy. Almost as soon as she sat down, there was a knock on her door.

' _I swear if it's Michi coming to tell me what things I did wrong today, I'm going to burn his tent to the ground and then set fire to his eyebrows.'_ Rasu thought with malice.

Reluctantly Rasu got up from her seat and answered the door.

Greeting her was an older woman, her hair done up to keep it out of her face, held up with a pin shaped like an orange. She wore a simple robe, meant for working in and it didn't matter if it got dirty. She did not have the appearance of a member of the Okami clan, her hair white from age and not genetics. On her back was a woven basket, carried with the grace of years of practice.

"Good evening dearie, I trust everything went ok today?" the old woman asked.

"Everything went wonderfully Mrs. Orange. We have a place to call home now." Rasu said to the now named Mrs. Orange.

"Oh, that's wonderful, I can't wait to tell my husband, he's beginning to get on my nerves with all the complaining he's been doing lately." she said as she made her way into the small house.

"You and I both know that he could be in the pure land surrounded by beautiful women and he would still find something to complain about Mrs. Orange." Rasu stated flatly.

"Oh, you know him so well." Mrs. Orange laughed.

"So, did she behave today?"

"Pfft, the only time that child behaves is when she's asleep. I wonder where she got that from." She said with an accusing glare towards Rasu.

Reaching to the basket on her back, Mrs. Orange took it off her back and placed it on the table in the living room. Opening it revealed a baby girl, her skin pale and her thin locks of hair white. She awoke from the slumber she had been in to reveal amber colored eyes. She sleepily glanced around the room until her eyes fell on Rasu. Immediately a smile overtook her features as she started to struggle in the blanket that bound her small limbs to her body.

Rasu took the child into her arms and stared at her with eyes only a mother could make. She freed the girl's arms from the confines of the blanket and let her run her little hands through her bangs. This earned a giggle from the baby girl.

"How was my little Ammako today? Were you good?" Rasu said to the girl.

All that did was cause the girl to giggle her little baby giggle even more.

"As I said that girl only behaves when she's asleep, for a fourteen day old she sure has a lot of energy." grumbled the old woman.

"Oh you, she isn't that bad. You just need to know how to distract her."

A quick flick of her hand and a flash of ink, a tiny bird drawing was flying around the room. Rasu turned Ammako towards it and the baby was instantly entranced by the construct of ink.

"Hmph, well I can't do that now can I? I'm not one of you Okami you know. If that's all you needed me for today, I need to go take care of my husband before he gets into trouble."

"Thanks you again for all your help Mrs. Orange, you don't know what it means to me." said a grateful Rasu.

Mrs. Orange merely gave a curt nod and exited the house. Rasu returned to her seat, baby in tow. It was true that they delayed joining the village to train her how to be noble, but they also waited so that she could give birth to her child. It wouldn't help at all if the village they wanted to join had that kind of leverage against them. That and she wasn't 100% that they would be trustworthy. Better to err on the side of caution, especially when it came to her newborn.

"Ammako, sweetie, we have a new home." she told the baby, though the child seemed to ignore her mother's words in favor of continuing to stare at the ink bird. "Konoha is our home now my baby girl, I hope that you'll have the life here that I always wanted for myself. You'll grow up and have friends and you'll never be without a place to call home..." Rasu had begun to cry into the small blanket, remembering all the things her own mother had promised her, but had been unable to provide before her death.

"I promise you, I'll protect our new home with my life. For you my little girl, I will protect our home."

Mother and daughter sat in that seat as the hours passed, Ammako drifting off to sleep first, with an exhausted Rasu following soon after.

In a tower in the shadow of a mountain with the faces of past leaders carved into its side, Hiruzen watched through a crystal ball as the newest addition to his village professed her resolve.

The aged Hokage let a small smile adorn his lips. He just knew that he could trust this new clan head. Everything turned out just fine today. He put his crystal ball away and sat back in his chair and lit his pipe. Things were indeed, looking up.

* * *

And Scene!

Well, there you have it. A brief description of how the Brush Techniques work in the world of Naruto. You may notice that I don't have all the Masters present. I hope I made it clear that Rasu was unable to completely gather her family back together. There is a reason for this, I promise. I have a neat little board where all of my plans comes together. (This is a total lie, I have no board and the plan is is constantly changing.)

Anyway, there is also the introduction of Ammako, the third character that had been birthed from Amaterasu. Ammako is going to be our female lead for the story when it gets there. For now she is a wee babe and can't form proper sentence structure to be the heroine that she is destined to be. So for now, we still have Rasu to provide those things. Before anyone says anything, Ammako is actually the nickname that Issun gave Amaterasu in the japanese version of the game, whereas in North America the name was Ammy. Because both Naruto and Okami take a lot of their names from Japanese lore, many names are shared between the two, hence why I decided that some names needed to be altered to an extent.

The next few chapters are going to focus on the Okami clan settling into Konoha and the changes their presence will have on future events. Trust me when I say that a lot of things are most likely going to change, but then again, some things will remain the same. That was a terrible description. But you'll all see when we get there. If we get there, my head may explode before then, but hopefully not.


	4. First Impressions

Once again I must apologize, this is later than I wanted to get this out. I can't really blame the tardiness of the chapter on work and school this time, though writers block did rear it's ugly head again. No, this time, the lateness can be blamed on Horizon Zero Dawn and Mass Effect Andromeda. I did mention in my profile that March would be a troublesome month for my attention span. To make up for it, I have a special treat for you guys at the end of the chapter.

Anyway, here's chapter 4.

I do not own Naruto or Okami.

* * *

Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter 4

First Impressions

Six weeks had passed by since the white-haired clan had marched on the village to join its ranks. Since then things had changed in Konoha. Not many could deny that the addition of the Okami clan was the cause for this change in the ninja village.

Yomi and his family members were seen at many damaged areas around the village; using Rejuvenation, repairs had taken very little time to complete, though the limits of the technique were made apparent. There were just some areas that could not be repaired, thankfully these areas were small in number and could be taken care of by the genin squads.

Those of the clan that had combat training were tested and many found positions within the village's ninja ranks. The Celestial Brush Masters were all found to be at least tokubetsu jonin to jonin rank in terms of skill and power. Of the remaining eighty-one ninja of the clan, nine were given the tokubetsu jonin rank, twenty-three earned chunin rank, and the last forty-nine were placed as genin. While this didn't bring them back to the numbers they had before the Kyuubi's attack, it did alleviate the pressure a significant amount.

With this boost in man power, the ninja of Konoha weren't as overworked as they were before. Not that this meant much, they were still trying to stay ahead of the other villages and not reveal that they were still recovering, though things were proceeding far quicker than they would've without the Okami.

Hiruzen stood in his office, looking out over the village as it started to look more like it had before the Kyuubi came. He was taking a moment to ignore his paperwork and relieve his stress by surveying his village and taking a few puffs of his pipe.

All major repairs on the village had just gotten completed a few days ago with the finishing touches being applied here and there. What was left was being handled by genin teams which amounted to pretty much being cleanup. The only major work being done right now was the construction of the Okami clan compound. Hiruzen could only shake his head when he thought back on that meeting…

 **Five weeks ago**

" _We can't have them staying in that camp forever Fugaku!" Tsume argued with the Uchiha clan head._

" _And where would you suggest they stay? We have bigger things to worry about, like finishing repairs and getting our security back to what it was!" Fugaku retorted._

" _What repairs? Yomi-san and his family have been fixing things all week; they've gotten things repaired faster than any of our own could've done it. Your police force hasn't had to offer any to the repair effort so you should have plenty to keep up security." Shikaku stated, "We're weeks ahead of where would've been if it weren't for the Okami's."_

" _The least we can offer is a place where they could build a place to call home." Choza followed up with._

 _The meeting had been going on like this for nearly an hour now. While nearly every other ninja on the Shinobi council was willing to accept that the Okami's needed a lot for their compound, none could agree on where it should be. No one could really pick one spot over another; when one would offer an idea for a spot, another would voice why that location wouldn't work. And so the conversation would circle around until they reached the point they were at now_

 _Hiruzen himself was looking a map of the village trying to locate a spot that hadn't been thought of yet. As simple as it should've been, Fugaku had a point; there simply wasn't a spot that immediately stood out. The park they were currently camped out in wouldn't do for much longer so a spot had to be found soon. The fact that Fugaku still was mistrustful of the clan didn't help matters either. Hiashi had relented on his bias, though he still hadn't commented on what should happen with the compound issue._

 _Staring down at the map, Hiruzen started to get an idea. It was a little crazy, but maybe that was all he needed to make it work._

" _Everyone, quiet please. Fugaku, looking at this map, am I to understand that there is a rundown warehouse complex not too far from your compound?" Hiruzen asked._

 _The look on Fugaku's face as he realized what the Hokage was saying was something Hiruzen wouldn't forget anytime soon. Just the look he wanted the Uchiha clan head to get._

" _Hokage-sama, you can't possibly be suggesting what I think you are."_

" _We have no need for those buildings right now, if we cleared that area it would be the perfect size for a compound. And look at it this way, since you have yet to fully put your trust in them, your clan is close enough to keep an eye on them." the old Hokage said._

 _Fugaku struggled with his words for a few moments, as he wanted to argue the point, but what the Hokage said made sense. The Okami seemed to be happy just being a part of the village, but his position as the head of the village's police force meant he couldn't just trust them as much as the rest of the Shinobi clans did._

 _If they were someplace out of the way, he would have a hard time justifying having patrols keeping an eye on them. With them being so close to his clan's compound would make surveillance on them simpler. On the other hand, they would be close to his compound as well as the police headquarters. Not that they knew that, but it wouldn't be long before they figured it out._

 _The Uchiha were by far the most isolated of the clans in the village, it was something they had come to accept and grown used to. To say the least having neighbors of any kind made him weary was an understatement._

" _I can see what you mean Hokage-sama, but I must add that I am not happy with this arrangement." was all that Fugaku could say._

" _Pfft, you're just upset that your clan won't be able to sit in their own little corner and brood for hours on end by themselves anymore." Tsume said amused._

" _Must you always comment?" asked the Uchiha clan head._

" _Yes. If only to see the look on your face." she replied with mirth._

" _Can you think of any reason that they shouldn't be given that lot Fugaku-san?" the Hokage asked._

"… _.. No, Hokage-sama. I can give no reason they should not be granted that spot." the Uchiha said in defeat._

" _Very well, I'll inform them that they now have a lot and then I want a demolition team there as soon as one becomes available. Meeting adjourned." Hiruzen finished._

 **Present**

Hiruzen couldn't really blame Fugaku for his reluctance to let the Okami live so close to his clan compound; the clan had been out in the part of the village by themselves for a long time now. It only made sense that they would be hesitant about suddenly accepting neighbors. Still, it wasn't like they were right next door, the lot was still a good distance away.

Hiruzen thought that it would be good for the Uchiha if they weren't so isolated, though he guessed that a period of adjustment was needed for a bit.

Once again Hiruzen had to be impressed with the new clan. Two weeks since they had been given their lot and the Okami had already accomplished much with their slice of land. They had already laid down a foundation and were nearly complete with the frame of the main house. It would still be a while before they would complete the compound, but speed at which they finished what they had was impressive.

In those two weeks, Hiruzen had made it a personal goal to get to know the Okami clan head. So far, she had proven to be an incredible person. Once he told her that she could drop her noble mask, she opened up quickly. They have had many conversations now, usually over drink, and had become good acquaintances.

Hiruzen learned that Rasu grew up traveling village to village, never really having a place to call home. Her mother had promised her that one day she would give Rasu the best home that she could. Sadly, Rasu's mother had contracted a terminal disease when Rasu was sixteen. In her final weeks, she told Rasu about her heritage and about how the clan had split. She told her about her grandmother and the great deeds she had done. She apologized for not being able to keep her promise about giving her a home. In the end, she made her peace with her failures, something that Rasu never blamed her for.

After her mother's death, Rasu decided that her clan had been split for long enough and set out to reunite her clan. After tracking down the first family, it came as a surprise to her that she was a member of the Royal branch of the family. Rasu wouldn't go into details of that story, simply stating that it took her a long time to convince them to join her before that revelation.

Rasu revealed that because of how she was raised, she is a little out of her element being the clan head of the Okami's. She feels that she can get by just fine without having her attendants at her side whenever she's with the clan. She told him about how she just wants them to treat her like they would anyone else, a request that seems to fall on deaf ears.

Finally, she told him about Ammako. In her travels, she met a man who she grew fond of, though it wasn't meant to last, as they both had their own journeys to finish. Their last moments together were spent in each other's embrace, which gave Rasu Ammako. She told the aged leader that she would've joined the village as soon as she had gotten the invitation from the Yondaime, but her advisors were against sending their Matriarch into a possibly hostile village while pregnant. So she stalled. And then the lessons came.

Hiruzen listened to her summarized tale; he really hoped that one day she would tell him the whole story and not just the footnotes.

Aside from that, they spoke of other things, mainly the other people that tagged along with her clan.

The first were the Pons, a large family of artisans that chose to follow the Okami clan a long time ago. The family head is Ishaku, a truly ancient man in the ninja world as he is well into his eighties. Hiruzen had the pleasure of meeting the old patriarch, who despite his age was still pretty spry. He spent his whole life mastering his brushwork; he even showed Hiruzen some of his art pieces. The old Hokage was impressed and asked if any of his work was for sell. He was gifted with a piece depicting a great battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

The rest of the Pons were just as skilled in their chosen crafts. Whatever craft they pursued they strove to master. They had blacksmiths, tailors, painters, cooks, and all other manner of craftsman. Their presence was quickly noted in the village, as the goods the family produced became highly sought after.

Next were the Oranges, an elderly couple that seemed to have adopted Rasu while she was on her journey. Oddly, Rasu couldn't really say what their first names were as she never thought to ask. To her, they were just Mr. and Mrs. Orange. She couldn't really say much about them as she felt it wasn't her place to tell him about their past. If he wanted to know he would have to talk to them about it.

Finally was Onigiri. No other name, just Onigiri. Now this was an enigmatic individual. Rasu has no idea where he came from or why he's following the clan. According to her, she met Onigiri when she was out in a field training. He happened to be resting under a tree nearby and commented on her stance. After saying that everyone got one, he showed her how to properly position herself. When asked what else he could show her, he refused and said that if she wanted to learn more it would come with a cost. She turned down the offer and he went on his way. Several weeks later their paths crossed again and he said the same thing. And so it would go for a while until eventually he didn't even vanish and just kept following the clan.

There seemed to be more to the story, though when pressed for more, Rasu simply took a horrified expression and refused to say anything more. Hiruzen heard her mutter something about terrifying sensei's and left it at that.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Hiruzen turned back to his desk and looked at his paperwork disdainfully. It wasn't the amount that got to him; it was the contents of those papers he had to deal with. A pile of papers with unreasonable requests, petty complaints, and ideas from civilians who thought that they knew better than the ninja on how to handle shinobi business.

Sighing, the aged Hokage braced himself as he prepared to start on the pile again. Just as he reached for his first sheet, he got the feeling that he wasn't alone in the office anymore.

"Jiraiya, how many times must I ask you to use the door." he asked the presence.

"Honestly, I lost count a long time ago sensei." said a man, more out of reflex than anything else, as he finished entering through the window.

Jiraiya of the Sannin, usually a boisterous man even in his later years, appeared grey and ashen. His clothing was dirty and ragged, his hair even messier than it normally was, and he had dark bags under his eyes. To say he had seen better days would be understating things.

Sarutobi could only feel sympathy for the sannin, he never lost any of his students. He watched as his former pupil lurched towards the cabinet that he kept his liquor in. Jiraiya pulled out a large glass and grabbed the first bottle that he could. Filling his glass he turned to Hiruzen while taking a swig from it. Jiraiya slumped into a seat, his eyes to the ground and his shoulders slouched. If ever there were ever a vision of a defeated man, it was this. Minutes passed in silence as the two men sat in the office, neither making any noise.

Taking a final look at his glass, Jiraiya downed the remaining alcohol then set his glass onto the desk.

"How are you holding up Jiraiya?" the aged leader asked.

"..." the sannin gathered his thoughts for second, "What happened?" was all he said.

"We don't know. I was here in the village covering for Minato while Kushina was in labor. Next thing we know, the Kyubi was descending onto the village. Minato was absent for a most of its rampage, we still haven't been able to piece together why. The cave that was set up for Kushina's pregnancy was somehow compromised. We haven't been able to find out by who yet." Hiruzen replied sullenly.

"I should've been there, I might've been able to do something." the sannin started to shake as his emotional control started to fail, "Why wasn't I there? Why did I insist on going on that mission?"

Jiraiya's shaking began to grow more violent as he started to vent all of the thoughts that he had been thinking ever since he heard the news of the attack and the death of his student. He let his emotions run free, probably for the first time in weeks. Despite his break down, Jiraiya didn't sob. Tears flowed freely, his body wracked in tremors, but he didn't sob.

After a few more minutes of this, Jiraiya managed to regain his composure.

"I'm sorry sensei, I…"

"You don't need to apologize to me Jiraiya, not for this. You were on a mission, if you had broken down during it you would have been compromised. I take it this is the first time you were truly able to let it out?"

A nod was all the response he got.

Hiruzen took his pipe out and lit it. He took a few puffs from it, blowing some smoke rings out, his form of stress relief when he needed.

"What… what of the child? What happened to Naruto?" Jiraiya asked pleadingly.

"He's alive. As for how he is, that matter is up for debate. Minato couldn't defeat the Kyubi. He… he was forced to seal it inside of Naruto."

"Oh, oh Minato, what have you done?" Jiraiya said as he placed his palms to his face. "Does the village know?"

"Unfortunately yes. Before I could label the knowledge of his condition as an S-class secret, the news had already spread through the village. The best I could do after the fact was order a law stating that anybody who reveals what he is to anyone who doesn't already know to be put to death. My hope is that he can have a normal life, but I fear that may be not be the case."

Standing, Hiruzen once again looked out over the village. "I'm not exactly enthusiastic about how the villagers will react when he gets older. I've already had to place an Anbu detail on where I'm keeping him right now. There have been a few attempts on his life from vengeful villagers. No shinobi have tried yet, but I suspect it is only a matter of time."

Jiraiya sat silently, listening to everything that his former sensei told him. His expression by the end of Hiruzen's tale could only be described as vengeful.

"Who?" his voice carrying a dangerous edge.

"Jiraiya. They have already been dealt with. Understand that they have suffered a loss, just as you have. I would be more surprised if they didn't try anything. Now if they continue to act up in this way, then I will hand out names, but for now, remain calm and relate to their pain."

Jiraiya took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. "Fine, but I expect those names should that ever be the case." Whatever weight that was on his shoulders, it appeared that some of it was lifted, for the time being anyway.

"Can I see him?"

"Of course. Come by the mansion later and you can meet your godson." The age lines in Hiruzen's face deepened, thinking of what he was about to say. "Jiraiya, this is probably not what you want to hear, but you won't be allowed to care for the boy."

This took Jiraiya by surprise, as he was expecting to take full custody.

"What do you mean I can't care for him!?" Jiraiya's expression quickly turned angry, "Minato and Kushina entrusted him to me should anything happen to them. You can't just take that away from me!"

"I know Jiraiya, I know. But that was when he wasn't a jinchuuriki. As it stands, it took everything I could do to keep him out of the hands of Danzo. But it's more than that Jiraiya. Right now, the world knows that Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina died in the Kyubi attack. If their enemies ever found out that their child survived, they would constantly be after him. They wouldn't rest until they saw him dead. If you showed up caring for a child, it wouldn't take long till they made the connection. You are too well known as a philandering womanizer to ever take care just **_any_** child."

Hiruzen sat back in his chair, feeling the weight of his years pressing down on him.

"As much as I would love to place Naruto in your care, unfortunately that would just place a target on his back."

Jiraiya wasn't pleased with what he had just been told. But he couldn't refute any of it. Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki now made him far too valuable as a village asset to entrust to any one individual or clan. To do so would cause tension and distrust between the clans.

As for the second point, it was well known that Jiraiya was the sensei of the Yellow Flash. Their relationship was one closer than most, being more akin to father and son than teacher and student. It was also well known that Jiraiya chased women with reckless abandon and was a self-labeled super pervert. His reputation simply didn't allow the existence of a child around him without people asking questions. Questions like whose child it was. Another known fact, told by Jiraiya himself, was that he couldn't have children. A lifetime career as a shinobi has its consequences, usually in the form of rather horrendous injuries. This one just so happened to leave Jiraiya unable to produce a child. If there is one thing that can get a woman into bed it's knowing that she won't get knocked up as a result.

Of course Naruto would inherit his parents' enemies. Even though they were gone, some people wouldn't be satisfied until every trace of their legacy was wiped from existence. Better the world think that they all perished the night the Kyubi attacked.

"I understand. I don't like it, but I understand." Jiraiya said dejectedly, "What will happen with him then?"

Hiruzen sighed, he had been expecting this question, but even he wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"He is currently at the orphanage, since we couldn't place him under the care of a family or clan, not that anyone would want to house the container of the fox. He'll stay there until he's old enough to take care of himself."

"That doesn't sound like it will be healthy sensei. A child needs care."

"I know, but it's the best I can do. If that damned Civilian council hadn't spoken so out of turn, it may have been easier to place him somewhere he would receive the care he needs. As it is, the best I can do is set aside a monthly stipend to take care of his needs. For his safety, I can't do much more than that."

Jiraiya simply sat there, trying to think of a way for him to be able to interact with his godson. Nothing he thought of could really get around the attention it would draw to the boy. He let out a drawn out sigh and refilled his glass. Both men once more sat in silence, neither too pleased with how things turned out for their young charge.

"Can I at least help him out financially? Set up a trust for him? Pay his bills? Something?"

Hiruzen thought for a moment, "Possibly, we'd have to bury it under a lot of paperwork to hide that the money is coming from you. But I think we can get a trust fund in place."

"Whatever it takes sensei."

Both men leaned into their respective chairs, indulging in their relief of alcohol and smoke. The silence was soon broken by the intercom.

"Hokage-sama, Okami Rasu-san is here to see you." his secretary informed him.

Hiruzen snapped out of the state and hastily replied "Could you ask her to wait a few minutes please. I'm in the middle of something."

"Of course Hokage-sama.

Jiraiya felt he recognized the name he just heard somewhere. A few seconds of thought brought it back to him. "Okami? They actually accepted?"

"You knew of Minato's plan to bring them into the village?"

"Of course I knew, he had me do research on them. Kind of came out of the blue really. One day he just asked me if I knew anything about them, I didn't so I took a look into it before I went away on my mission."

"Anything of interest?" Hiruzen already knew a decent amount about the clan, but Jiraiya was a spymaster, he may have been able to find out something about them that they have yet to reveal.

"Not much that I'm sure you don't already know. Their connection to that old tale that is told around here, their own brand of family jutsus, the fact that they have white hair." Jiraiya began to list off. "Other than that, the only thing I could find was that they are skilled in fuinjutsu."

"Yes, that correlates with what they have revealed to me so far. I was impressed with what the clan is able to do with just the things they have shown. There is still much that they haven't shown us, but I eagerly await when they show what they're fully capable of." Hiruzen paused as he straightened his robes and put his Kage hat on. "Would you like to meet their clan head?"

Jiraiya followed his sensei's actions and was tidying himself up, the best he could anyway. Realizing that physically making himself look better was a futile effort, the sannin opted to use a henge to make himself look presentable.

"Guess that's as good as it's going to get. Okay, I'm ready."

Hiruzen clicked on his intercom. "You can send Rasu-san up now."

A few moments later there was a knock on the door. "Enter."

In the three weeks that Rasu and her clan had joined Konoha, the Okami Clan head had decided to forego the façade she wore when she first arrived. Gone were the overly extravagant kimonos and hairstyles, replaced with a simple kimono and obi, her hair up in a simple ponytail. The simpler choice in clothing did nothing to diminish her natural beauty however, as Jiraiya had to stop himself from drooling outright onto the floor.

"Good afternoon Rasu-san, I hope you're day is going well. Please, have a seat" Hiruzen greeted the Okami matriarch.

A polite bow was given and Rasu sat down. "My day is going well Hokage-sama." She turned to face Jiraiya. "I don't believe we've met. Okami Rasu, pleasure to meet you."

"Jiraiya of the Sannin, I assure you, the pleasure is all mine." Any trace of the torment Jiraiya had been going through not too long ago had been buried for the time being, placed behind a mask the world was all too familiar with.

Hearing the name of the legendary ninja, Rasu immediately got stars in her eyes. "Jiraiya? Thee Jiraiya? Writer of Icha Icha Paradise?" Rasu pulled out a book with an orange cover. "You have no idea how much I love this book, the writing and characters are amazing. Could you please autograph this for me?"

Her behavior came as a shock to both of the aged ninja. Hiruzen because he was not expecting this kind of reaction from the clan head and Jiraiya because it was rare to run into a woman who actually liked his book.

The Sannin smiled. "Of course, anything for a fan." He quickly placed an autograph on the rather worn copy of his book.

"Oh thank you, thank you! This means so much!" Rasu said as she reclaimed her book with near religious fervor.

"I'm surprised a woman of your stature is a fan of my book. Most women of any station tend to label it as pure smut."

"Yeah well, I'm not most women. I grew up on the road, I take my entertainment where I can get it. Besides, once you get past the sex, the story and characters are extremely well written. And don't think of me as some prim and proper lady Jiraiya-sama, I'm not above doing what I need to in order to get by."

This may have been taken the wrong way by both men in the room as both of their faces turned beet red. Noticing this, Rasu knew they misinterpreted her words.

"I wouldn't go that far, pervs. But I have modeled to make sure I had enough to get what I needed."

This calmed down the aged Hokage, but only seemed to spur the Sannin imagination as he pulled out his trusty notebook and began to quickly jot down notes.

"You wouldn't happen to remember the name of the magazine would you?

"Magazine? Oh no, nothing quite so professional. I posed nude for some art classes some time back." she said waving her hand dismissively.

For once, Jiraiya didn't write down his thoughts in his book. His brain would have had to still be functioning to do so. The thought that there were nude drawings of the beauty in front of him out in the world was too much for him to process.

Hiruzen however could only think of the potential drawbacks of there being an image of one of his Clan heads. The damage that could be done should anyone wanting to blackmail her could be catastrophic.

"I wouldn't spread that knowledge around Rasu-san, who knows what people could do with that information?"

"Why? My family has always been accepting of the arts. Nure herself has done some photoshoots for teen wear. Moe has modeled for a magazine in the capitol. Yomi has a statue of him somewhere in Tetsu no Kuni. We really don't mind. Besides, this was beginning art class, done in charcoal. I doubt anyone would recognize me from those."

Hiruzen could only sweatdrop at Rasu's antics, even he wasn't willing to admit that he owned a copy of his former student's book, craftily hidden away in a secret drawer in his desk, let alone everything that Rasu just told him. The scandal alone would be enough to make any of the current Clan heads to wage a small war. Rasu continued to surprise him at nearly every turn, as he was finding it hard to really get a true indication of her personality.

Satisfied that he wouldn't have to run damage control for the Okami clan head, he and Rasu continued talking about some of their favorite books, largely ignoring the catatonic Sannin next to them. It didn't take long for Jiraiya to regain himself.

He and Rasu began speaking again, this time about some of their favorite books and authors. Hiruzen took this moment to excuse himself from the room to relieve himself, both from biology and his old joints. Upon returning to the room he found that the conversation had taken a turn.

"So if I use an iron based ink rather than a charcoal based one, I can increase the chakra output by 9%?"

"Yeah, it's a simple trick, but a significant one all the same."

He had walked in on a conversation about fuinjutsu something that he understood some of , but for the most part, a lot of it went over his head. Things like ink density, chakra matrixes, and link variations were mentioned, not a bit of it registered as familiar to the old Hokage.

' _At least they get along, here I was worried that Rasu would be aware of his philanderous ways.'_

Hiruzen coughed, gaining the attention of the two fuinjutsu users.

"Ah, sorry about that sensei, it's not every day I meet someone who can keep up with me when talking about seals." Jiraiya said sheepishly as Hiruzen returned to his seat.

"Oh, you should really visit my clan then, we have lots of seal users in our ranks. They could use some fresh eyes on some projects they've been working on." Rasu offered.

"Heh, I'll do that then."

"So Rasu, I assume you didn't just show up today to speak with me about books and your past. What really brought you here today?" questioned Hiruzen.

"Right, according to my foreman, he says that we have an excess of building supplies and I was wondering if there was anywhere that they would be of more use."

"I'm sure I can find a place for them."

All in all, the meeting was pleasant compared to others the Hokage had to deal with.

Later, after Rasu had said what she needed and left, Hiruzen and Jiraiya were once again left to speak amongst themselves.

"So, what did you think?"

"Other than Rasu being a total babe? She has a grasp of fuinjutsu that I haven't seen in a long while. Maybe not master level, but the simple fact that she knew what I was talking about was refreshing to say the least. And she says that her clan is versed in it? That could only be a good thing for the village. Those brush jutsu are also intriguing, I can't wait to see them in action myself."

"Yes, I thought so myself." Hiruzen said while smiling as he lit his pipe.

A mirthful glint appeared in Jiraiya's eye. "So, you thought she was a babe too huh sensei?"

Hiruzen nearly inhaled his pipe whole with how caught off guard the comment had caught him.

"Jiraiya! She's young enough to be my daughter!" he managed to cough out.

"Never stopped me." The Sannin said coyly.

Hiruzen could only glare at his former pupil. "I'll admit she is attractive, but please, Biwako hasn't been gone long."

Of course, they were instantly reminded of the horrible tragedy that befell their home over a month ago. The awkward pressure in the office increased with each passing second.

"I… I think I'm going to go to my apartment and rest, I have a lot of things to go over. I'll see you tomorrow sensei." Jiraiya said as he left the room out the window.

' _I think I should head home early too. I'm not going to get any work done now.'_ Hiruzen thought to himself.

With that, the Hokage called it a day.

* * *

And scene!

Not quite as long as I wanted this chapter to be, I was trying to hard to get a lot of things out of the way so we can move the story forward, but this chapter made things difficult as I really had no idea what to do with it. It's one of those bits that's needed to show that it happened, but at the same time not really interesting in the grand scheme of things. Well, that's how I felt writing this chapter anyway. I'll leave final verdict to you guys.

But yeah, Rasu meets Jiraiya, hopefully I showed a bit more of Rasu's personality. What this means for the future, we'll see.

On a separate note, not sure if anyone noticed, but I did go back through the other chapters and updated any errors I had failed to fix when I originally posted them. Also fixed some minor continuity errors. Mostly, I'm sure that there are some things that escaped my notice.

Anyway I wanted to send a thank you out to **Dark Sun Noctis** for his/her/it/apache attack helicopter/killer robot from the future review. I really appreciated the feedback, unlike some people who are content to simply say they like it, I'm almost positive one of them is a robot. Not a bot, an actual robot, who's trying to fool everyone into thinking that they are really a person. Sadly, I think I have to burst your bubble on what is going to happen with Naruto. Without giving too much away, I need Naruto to be Naruto. You'll see what I mean as the story progresses.

And a special thanks to two of my friends who have been helping me with my story. They've had to sit there and listen to my ideas whenever one happens to wreck it's way into my head. They both have been letting me know what works, what doesn't, as well as helping me come up with better plots and character twists.

Now that I got that out of the way, I believe I promised a treat here. Look beyond the great line and behold!

 **Character Bio**

 **Name:** Okami Rasu

 **Position:** Okami Clan Head

 **Affiliation:** Konohagakure

 **Ninja Rank:** Tokubetsu Jonin

 **Age:** 24

 **Blood Type:** AB

 **Birthday:** February 22

 **Family:** Okami Ammako (daughter)

Rasu's Mother (deceased)

Rasu's Father (unknown)

 **Height:** 152.4 cm

 **Weight:** 47.63 kg

 **Favorite Foods:** Cherry Cakes, Cherries, Steak (any kind)

 **Hobbies:** Reading, training, painting, sculpting

 **Nature Type:** Yin-Yang Release (In'yoton), Fire Release (Katon)

I figure that I can get some exposition out off the way by just putting certain attributes of the characters in little bios at the end of the chapter. Look forward to more as I will be using these to let you guys get to know the Omaki clan members a little better.

As always, review people! I can't make this story better if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong!


	5. Dinnertime

Welcome readers! I swear this isn't a prank, this is an actual update despite the date. Only getting one chapter out last month didn't sit well with me, so I worked to get this one done as soon as I could. It's a tad shorter than some of the others, but really, I think I speak for everyone that we want to get the story to go forward. More notes after the chapter.

* * *

Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter 5

Dinnertime

* * *

 **2 weeks later**

"I still don't understand why we're doing this."

"Rasu-sama, we've been over this. You need to start building relations with the clans of the village. Now that the compound is finished and everyone is settled, now is as good a time as any." Michi scolded his clan head.

"But I thought we decided that I wouldn't have to wear all of this pompous crap anymore?"

"When you're not conducting clan business you can wear whatever you want Rasu-sama, but seeing as how this evening is formal, it would be best if you wore the proper attire."

Rasu once again found herself trapped in another stuffy formal kimono that she couldn't stand. The only upside that she could find with this one is that it wasn't nearly as difficult to move in. It bore the colors of the clan, primarily white with red trim, the clan symbol of a stylized sun on her and a smaller emblem on her right shoulder.

At least they let her stay in a ponytail, it was just dinner to get to know some of the clans. She would be more ok with it if it was just one big dinner, but no. She was having several dinners over the next few days as she met with the clan heads and their families. Seeing as she needed to be the image of a clan head for these dinners, she was being forced to wear the hated clothing.

"You don't have to be as formal as you were during the initial meeting with them, but please refrain from being rude Rasu-sama." her aged advisor pleaded.

"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill, don't let them know what I'm thinking if what I'm thinking is considered rude or uncouth." Rasu said, as though she were reading it from a textbook.

"Wonderful!" Michi excitedly let out, "Now tonight you will be meeting with the Hyugas. They are the closest thing to nobility this village has and forming ties with their clan can only benefit ours."

Rasu could only remember the dark haired, white eyed man with a face whose appearance looked as if it were stuck that way. She felt that it was going to be difficult not to tell him to pull whatever he had stuck up his rear out so that they could all get on with their lives. She had been told that he had a wife and she could only imagine what kind of woman would marry a man like that. If she had to put up with two people who had that look on their face for an evening she may have to murder her advisor and hide the body.

Almost as if sensing the impending doom coming his way, Michi said "Rasu-sama, I know that you dislike meeting those of nobility, but think of it this way, they are the first so you can get that out of the way. From what I've heard, the other clans aren't nearly as traditional as the Hyuga. It might make you feel better to know that the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clan heads have requested if they could have their dinner on the same night. They appear to be close friends."

Oddly, that did settle Rasu's nerves a bit. If they were friends, then that possibly meant that they were more willing to have dinner in an informal setting.

"Alright, who else shall I be having dinner with?" she asked as she tried to adjust inside her robes.

"The Inuzuka clan head wished for a dinner as well. The Uchiha's were extended an invitation, however Fugaku-san declined. His wife however, requested a lunch meeting at a local restaurant."

The clan advisor continued listing a few more names from some of the smaller clans of the village. What caught Rasu's attention was the last one mentioned by Michi.

"What was that last one?"

"One of the Sannin requested a meeting as well Rasu-sama."

"Jiraiya-sama?"

"No, it was Orochimaru-sama."

Rasu had to think on that one, as she had yet to meet the enigmatic second sannin. She had met with Jiraiya a few times over the last couple of weeks, introducing him to several of her clan members who were knowledgeable with fuinjutsu. She had yet to meet with the other two though. Tsunade was understandable as she had left the village some time ago. Orochimaru was still in the village, though people rarely saw the famous shinobi.

' _Maybe Jiraiya mentioned me to him.'_ Rasu thought to herself, because she couldn't think of any other reason for one of the Sannin to request a dinner. She had heard much from Jiraiya about his former teammates, maybe Orochimaru wanted to speak with her about seals. Whatever it was, it would have to wait as her dinner with the Hyugas was to start soon.

Hiashi could only stare at the Okami compound. The overall design of it was simple, but somehow the workers who built it managed to add a simple elegance to the overall appearance. How they did that he couldn't figure out. A small part of his mind was already thinking of ways he could get the Hyuga compound to somehow mirror the design of what he was currently looking at.

He had to break himself of these thoughts when he felt his wife stumble a little bit next to him.

"Himiko-chan, are you alright?" he asked quickly.

"I'm fine Hiashi, really, you need to stop fretting over every little thing that happens around me. I'm pregnant, not dying." She told her overly protective husband.

"I know that Himiko, but you're getting near your due date. You really should have stayed at the compound and not out here exerting yourself."

"And miss meeting the mysterious woman who makes my husband nervous for unknown reasons? I wouldn't miss this for the world." she replied mischievously.

"You are not to inform Rasu-san of that at all, do you hear me?" Hiashi said with as much conviction as his status as clan head would allow.

"Oh, that's cute. You're trying to be the clan head with me Hiashi-kun? Remember, I'm not a Hyuga honey; I don't fear the almighty Hyuga glare." Himiko teased.

Hiashi dropped the stern look on his face in defeat. As much as he wished that Himiko would be more Hyuga-like, it was that very part of her that he loved more than anything. It helped him deal with the rigid traditions that his clan was famous for.

The couple made their way to the front gate where a young Okami was waiting to take them inside. The inside of the building they entered surprised Hiashi, having a very homey feel to it, as opposed to the strict decorations of the Hyuga compound. They were led to a dining room where they were seated. Rasu was already there waiting for them.

"Good evening, I welcome you to our home. Please, sit." The Okami clan head greeted warmly.

"Very nice to meet you Rasu-san, please accept this for inviting us to dinner." Himiko said as she handed Rasu a basket. The Okami clan head took a look inside.

"Mochi? But the New Year isn't for another few weeks."

"Oh, I make those all the time. Can't really help it, they're my favorite food. Share what you love and all." Himiko said as she and her husband sat down.

"Ah, well thank you, we can enjoy them with dinner. They smell delicious."

Himiko immediately noticed that Hiashi had gone full Hyuga mode, his face slipping into the controlled emotionless mask that his clan usually wore when dealing with others. Her years of experience being married to the man also told her that Rasu was wearing a mask of her own, though not nearly as stoic, it was clearly one she would rather have on.

' _Oh dear, don't tell me we're just going to sit her all night pretending to be civil to each other."_ Himiko thought to herself.

While that was going on, in another part of the house, a certain advisor was happily living in denial. Michi was on the way out of his office to go and check on his cherished clan head and her guests. Unlike her other advisors, Michi seemed to have it in his head that Rasu would one day be the true vision of regality that she currently pretended to be. His hope was that by spending more time with the Hyugas, their noble stature would rub off on her.

He made his way through the halls until he came to the dining hall door. He cracked the door open a little to see how the dinner was going. To his shock, he saw his matriarch and her guests sitting uncomfortably around the table eating in silence.

' _This won't do. They should be talking and making plans for both our clans' futures! Why are they so quiet?'_ the old advisor thought in horror.

' _Kami above, this is awkward. This wouldn't be happening if Michi would just let me be myself.'_

' _Why am I letting this upstart get to me? I am the Head of the Hyuga Clan, the most prestigious clan in Hi no Kuni, I should not feel threatened.'_

' _Hiashi, when are you going to pull that stick from your ass and just be my husband?'_

' _Well, this isn't go to do at all. I need to break the ice between them. But how?'_ Michi thought as he watched the awkward levels rise in the dining room. Both of the clan heads look uncomfortable to be in the same room with each other and the wife of Hiashi looked as if she had seen something like this before.

' _Wait, is she? She is! I know what to do.'_ Michi turned to a nearby attendant and gave her a quick order.

"Hurry back, this could be what they need to loosen up."

"Hai!" said the attendant as she quickly went off to fulfill the advisors request.

Meanwhile, the three at the dining table tried to make small talk.

"So, how has being the clan leader for the Okami been treating you Rasu-san?" Himiko asked.

"Well," Rasu had to think on her words, it wouldn't be fitting of her station if she just out and said that she really didn't enjoy most aspects of it. If she just led them that would be fine, but she had to wear a mask to hide that fact from the rest of her peers. "it's been challenging, to say the least, but fulfilling to know that I managed to bring my family back together."

Hiashi could relate, he was currently trying to change some of the traditions that his clan had adhered to for generations. He truly doubted that he wouldn't have made the headway that he had if his wife wasn't there to support him. He was about to voice as much, at least willing to offer his advice as an experienced clan head, when the door opened. In entered the attendant with a struggling bundle in her arms.

"I apologize Rasu-sama, but Ammako-chan is being fussy again."

"Oh give her here, she just needs her Ka-san." Rasu said, eagerly taking her child into her arms. The bundle immediately ceased its struggles and let out a cry of delight upon seeing Rasu.

"OOOH! A baby! Let me see, let me see!" Himiko squealed.

The mother and soon-to-be mother bunched up together to look at the Okami clan heir.

"She's beautiful. Just look at those eyes. Kami, that hair!" Hiashi eyed his wife as she gushed over what he presumed must be Rasu's child. He figured he would try to get a breath of air.

"Yes, she's my world right now. I know the look, when are you expecting?"

"Oh, could be anytime now in the next couple of weeks." Himiko grabbed Hiashi as he was about to make himself scarce. "I'm really hoping for a daughter, but Hiashi wants a boy."

"You don't know?"

"We want it to be a surprise."

"By we, she means her. If I had my way, I would've known as soon as possible." Hiashi grumbled, his freedom denied, making him grumpy; well, grumpier.

"Honey, your grump is showing." Himiko said, a dark aura emanating from around her.

Hiashi could only gulp, as his wife, sweet natured as she is, was more than willing to show him why she was one of the only people in the world with the ability to bring him to heel.

"I apologize."

"Damn right you do."

It started to dawn on Hiashi why he felt threatened by Rasu, for as he was looking at his wife and her, he started to notice that both shared a similar aura. The way they sat. The way they spoke. The way they held themselves. By all the stars above, there were two of them he realized.

It was at this point that Hiashi thought that maybe, just maybe, he should run for the hills and never look back. If his clan and Rasu's formed a relationship, it could only mean terrible things for his health in the future. Before his eyes however, he saw that cutting ties with the Okami's was now impossible, as the two women were quickly forming a friendship.

And so things went for the night, Himiko and Rasu having an in depth conversation about babies and motherhood with Hiashi lamenting the death of his peace of mind. Michi of course saw everything and could only pat himself on the back, his brilliant plan came together like a dream.

' _Now, if she can only make sure to form this kind of bond with the other clans.'_

* * *

Hiashi stood in his den back at the Hyuga compound, his thoughts in disarray. Though the dinner had started out fine enough for him, things quickly went downhill. It was nice to know why the new clan head made him so uncomfortable, the fact that she reminded him so much of his wife was a little too much for him. He was fine there being one of her in the form of his dear Himiko, but more than that just begged for trouble.

Now it seems that not only is there another like his wife and the two got along well enough that they started talking about baby showers and playdates, all before his child was even born. All that, and yet he felt grateful in way. His wife, not being a Hyuga, felt rather isolated in the clan. The elders didn't take to her nearly as much as he did and even among the Branch family she couldn't shake being the clan heads wife. They were respectful enough, enjoyed her company, but they often felt that they shouldn't be in her presence. It didn't help that the Elders seemed to get on their cases whenever they happened upon his wife and whatever branch member was present.

Since Rasu didn't seem at all intimidated by her status and he doubted that either of them cared what the Hyuga Clan Elders thought, it might give his wife the companionship she so desired. He would've preferred it if Himiko had made friends with someone other than Rasu, but it mattered little as the ship had already set sail. The best he could do now was avoid the white haired clan head as much as possible.

Deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice his den door open. In walked a man who at first glance could've been Hiashi himself. Seeing that his entry went unnoticed, a smirk appeared on the man's face as he stealthily creeped up behind Hiashi. He got closer and closer until he was near enough to whisper into Hiashi's ear.

"Boo."

It is not often that one gets the drop on a Hyuga, let alone the leader of it, but when one does it is usually hilarious to see. As a whole, the clan is not used to it when people actually manage to sneak up on them.

Hiashi suddenly whipped around, his face a bright red, his fist mid-swing. His doppelganger had anticipated this and reacted accordingly. He ducked under the swing and caught the arm as it passed by. A quick twist and pull and the next thing Hiashi knew he was face down on the floor.

"Oh my, you must have been deep in thought for you to end up in this position Onii-san."

Hiashi grumbled, not happy that his brother had managed to get him again. "Hizashi, why didn't you knock?"

"I did. Twice. I knew you were in here and yet you didn't answer. What has you in such a state I wonder?" Hizashi stated, that smirk still on his face. "If it was something serious you would've told everyone to leave you to your business."

"…"

"I could always ask Himiko-san, you know she'll tell me. Either I hear it from you or I hear it from her and you know she'll exaggerate the story."

Sighing in defeat, Hiashi knew that what his brother said was true. "Himiko made a friend I'm not too enthusiastic about."

"Ah. Would this new friend happen to be the head of the Okami Clan?"

"How di-"

"She already told me."

"Then what was the point of all this!?"

"Because it amuses me."

Despite the front that the two brothers put up for the Elders, when left to their own devices the walls that separated them most of the time came down. Both brothers agreed that the traditions their clan followed had to change, Hizashi's son and Hiashi's unborn child the driving force behind this desire. Hiashi wanted to implement theirs plans as soon as possible, but it was his brother who had him wait. Hizashi told him that when the time was right, their plans would come to fruition.

Hiashi was thankful, for both his brother and his wife. Without them he felt that he would lack the resolve to face his father and the other elders to enact change in their clan. They gave him the strength he needed to face the hardships he knew he would have to face.

"Are you going to get off of me anytime soon?"

"I'll think about it."

Hiashi groaned.

* * *

And so Rasu would go on to have many more dinners with the various clans of the village as she got to know them and their families.

First she met with the trio of Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clan heads with their wives. Rather than meet at any of the clan compounds, they requested the meeting at a recently opened barbeque called Yakiniku Q.

This time Rasu enjoyed her evening a bit more, as she didn't feel the need to be all that formal with these three. They drank, ate, told tales of their exploits, and just had a good time overall. Rasu also connected with their wives, trading mother tips and baby stories and photos. Attendants watched over the children of the clan heads in a separate room, as they were being far too rambunctious. As the attendants chatted away, three of the children rolled around to get a better look at the new one. The Nara heir took one look, made a defeated sigh and went to sleep. The Yamanaka was curious, but stayed back as the new one had an odd look in her eye. The Akimichi heir seemed to be the least interested, as the bottle he was holding held his attention far more than any other baby could. As for the white haired baby, she soon grew bored and tried to do that thing adults with their legs, but promptly fell on her face. Undeterred, she tried again, and again, and again.

The night went on and ended when an argument broke out between the Okami and Akimichi clan heads about who got the last piece of steak. Neither relented as the other two clan heads left, one since it was late and the other because getting in between the two would be too troublesome.

The next was held at the Inuzuka compound, though it wasn't a dinner, as Tsume requested a lunch meeting. Of course, whatever meeting was planned quickly went down the drain as soon as sake was introduced. Both clan heads were soon inebriated to the point that anything that was said soon led to fits of giggles.

Once again, the babies were in a separate room. The Inuzuka clan heir, seeing that there was competition in the room, immediately tried to assert dominance. Ammako would have none of it and promptly pushed him over. Anytime he tried to get up, back down he would go.

The Uchiha declined any invitation for a meeting, dinner, lunch, or other.

Other meetings were only so so, not overly impressive, but not bad. Others were less than satisfactory. Rather rude to hit on to a fellow clan head.

Rasu slumped facedown onto the couch in her study.

"Am I done? No more meetings?" she said, her voice muffled by the pillow in her face.

"No more clan meetings for the next two weeks Rasu-sama. You aren't expected to start going to council meetings until the New Year has passed." Michi told her.

"Thank Kami!" she shouted excitedly.

The study door opened and an attendant stuck her head in.

"Rasu-sama, there's someone here to meet with you."

"Damn it! Fine, just ask them to wait a minute." Rasu said dejectedly, her couch time interrupted. She got up and walked over to her desk. She quickly straightened up the messy workspace, neglected for the past few days. Satisfied that it at least looked presentable, she gestured for the attendant to bring in the guest.

The attendant returned a minute later, guest in tow. Though Rasu knew that this particular guest wanted a meeting, she wasn't expecting him to just show up.

The man in front of her was truly something else, his skin paler than her own, the pupils in his eyes slit and his irises yellow, his hair darker than night. Aside from his appearance, just the presence of the man was unsettling, the very air seemed to chill a few degrees as soon as he entered the room. Thanks to all of her training, Rasu was able to remain composed as this intimidating man entered her office.

"Greetings Okami-san, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The Sannin said as he stopped in front of her desk.

"I'm pleased to meet you Orochimaru-san. Please, have a seat." Rasu greeted the Sannin with a smile, though she had to fight the shiver creeping down her spine. "So what brings you to my home this day?" she asked as he sat down.

"Oh, you know, it seems everyone else in the village has gotten to meet the new clan head. I figured that maybe I should as well. I hear that you and the rest of your clan are trained in fuinjutsu. Impressive, not many out there who are willing to go through training required."

"Well, my clan have always admired art in whatever form it takes, fuinjutsu is no different to us than a masterwork painting. And of course the similarities it has with our clan jutsus."

"Yes, I had heard of those as well. I regret missing the demonstration when you first got here, but I was terribly busy with my research. I couldn't simply leave it during at the stage it was at. You must allow me see them some time."

"It would be my pleasure. We could arrange something at a later date perhaps."

"I look forward to it. Tell me Rasu-san, what do you think of village so far? Anything standout to you at all?" Orochimaru asked, his voice hinting at something just beyond that grasp of Rasu's knowledge.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. The village seems fine. Why?"

"Oh nothing, was just seeing if you were comfortable here is all."

"Riight. So, was there anything in particular you wished to speak of? Other than my views on the village or our techniques"

The Sannin thought for a moment, "No, not really. Just those two things and to meet you. I really am much too busy with my research to stay away from it for too long. I'm sure that we will get to know each other better as time goes on." He said as he got up from his seat. "I thank you for your time Rasu-san."

He left the office and made his way to the front door. Passing through the main hall he saw his apprentice chatting with one of the Okami's, a teenage girl with brilliant blue eyes.

"Anko-chan, we're headed back to the lab. Come now."

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama." the young girl all but yelled out. She turned back to the Okami girl. "It was nice meeting you Nure-san."

"And you Anko-san, I'll see you around."

Orochimaru left the compound with Anko trailing behind him.

' _Yes, I think that they shall be most interesting indeed. I can't wait to figure out how those marvelous brush jutsu work.'_ Thought the snake sannin, ideas already forming in his mind on the best ways to go about learning the Okami's secrets.

Back in the office, Rasu was busy fighting Nure.

"Give back that bottle you little upstart!" Rasu shouted as she chased her younger clan member.

"Rasu-sama, you know you shouldn't be drinking!" Nure said as she dodged each of Rasu's attempts to grab the bottle of sake she managed to steal away.

"If you had spent more than a second in the presence of that man you would want to drink to! Now hand over the bottle!"

"Rasu-sama, think of Ammako-chan!"

"I'm not pregnant anymore! Ammako would want me to drink!"

Unbeknownst to the two women, Moe was outside the door with some paperwork. Hearing the ruckus inside, he thought it better not to go in, preferring to listen to the fun from the safety of the hall. The crashing in the room continued for several long minutes, attracting a bit of attention from several passing clan members.

The sounds eventually died down and Moe felt it was safe to enter. Going in he saw that the room was in disarray, paperwork everywhere, the furniture turned over, and a chair found itself buried in the ceiling. Rasu was unconscious and tied up, Nure sitting down nearby clearly exhausted.

"So, how close did she get to it today?"

"Too close, I don't think I can keep this up for much longer." Nure replied.

"You do realize that you're going to have to let her drink some time right? You should know full well that you can't keep something from Rasu for long. The fact that you've managed to do it this long is admirable." Moe said as he started to collect the papers from the floor. "Don't know why you feel you need to keep her sober."

"You know damn well why. You were there. We're lucky that she was in a good mood when she was drinking with the Inuzuka clan head."

"I'm not as traumatized from that night as you are, so I have no problems with it. Seeing you react however is hilarious and way too entertaining."

Nure could only glare at her cousin, knowing that he had a point. Out of all the members that were there that night, she was the only one who thought of drunk Rasu as a blight on the world and needed to be stopped from ever being seen again. It wasn't hard to get her to stop drinking when it was found that she was with child, she didn't ingest a drop of alcohol for the duration of her pregnancy.

Now that Ammako was born, Rasu, though not an alcoholic, still felt that she needed a drink every now and then. If she happened to be in a bad mood, well, things would go downhill quickly. Nure vowed that she would prevent that. The Okami clan name was at stake.

"Well, whatever. Hope you know that you're the one who has to clean up the rest of this mess."

Nure eyes widened in terror as she looked around the room and the destruction she had wrought trying to escape Rasu.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" her scream of dismay echoed through the halls of the compound.

* * *

Hiruzen sat in his office going through his backlog of paperwork. Now that things were settling down he could actually get through it without having to worry that someone was going to burst through his door with a new problem to solve.

Reaching the bottom of his last pile for the day, he found a scroll with the seal on it broken.

' _What could this be? Nobody is allowed to open scrolls meant for me."_

Unrolling it and reading it only confused the aged Hokage.

 _ **Yondaime-sama,**_

 _ **I understand that you come from a village that more than welcomes clans who happen to have unique abilities. Well, I happen to know of a clan that would fit well in your village. I'm sure that they will prove to be exactly what you need. Seek out Okami Rasu, she'll be the one you need to talk to.**_

 _ **Yours Truly,**_

 _ **W.**_

' _So, this must be how Minato knew to find the Okami. Well, that's one mystery solved, but who in the world is this W.?"_

That was a question to solve for another day though, as Hiruzen was done with his paperwork and decided to head home.

Outside, high on the monument of former Hokages, stood a figure. It looked out over the village, its gaze falling on the Okami compound in the distance. A sly smile formed on the figures face before it leapt into the air, vanishing into the mountains behind Konoha, sakura petals left in its wake.

* * *

And scene!

Oh crap! Who's is this mysterious figure? If you play Okami, I think you can take a pretty accurate guess. What that means for the story will come later. On to reviews!

To **bladetri** and **jablanco** : I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the story so far. I hope to hear more from you guys.

To **MIKE202303** : Thank you for the number of reviews for each chapter, I'm more than happy to provide more for you to read. Though I don't think I'm all that great to deserve to be called god sent. Have you seen the mistakes I've made writing this? I'm only human.

To **ultima-owner** : Yes, yes they are.

To **InuKamahira** : YES! You have no idea how happy I was when they made an HD version for the PS3. I think the game is a masterpiece that really should have done better, but it is what it is. As for the Oranges, originally I was going to have a random Okami teen girl bring her back, but I'm trying to avoid making too many OC's for the story, so I thought, why not a grandmotherly figure. They'll have more presence later, so look forward to that. Anyway, glad that you like the story so far.

And lastly, **GUEST 907** : Wow. Now that's a review. Lets go over it shall we. Yeah, still with the exposition. I'm trying to get it out as much as I can, so we can get to the real meat and potatoes of this story. I'm happy to announce that we have moved past most of the heavy stuff and getting this story moving. As for your question, (steps out of room) -evil laughter heard in the distance- (steps back into room) I'm sorry, but I can neither confirm nor deny this.

I am trying to fill in some of the blanks that Kishimoto left in his story. Namely, most peoples motivations. My primary problem with Naruto (hell, most anime in general) is that most of the character motivation is one dimensional. _Oh, I lost this as a child and now everyone else must pay!_ Naruto manages to deviate from this for some characters, but not all. One goal I hope to achieve with this story is to fill some of those motivations.

I'm with you on some writers making Naruto's life worse than it already is. Sometimes it works in the story's favor, though most times it just seems to be for shock value. We all know that Naruto grew up alone for the most part and studies have shown that even this is more than enough to turn someone into a rather unpleasant individual. The things that those writer make him go through make Naruto's compassion pretty much reach godly levels of forgiveness, which just doesn't sound feasible. So yeah, not going that route. Like I said before, I need Naruto to be Naruto.

But yes, we are nearing the end of the pre-academy years. A couple more chapters to get through the rest and we'll finally see our favorite genins!

 **Spoiler!** For the next chapter, I will be covering my take on the Hyuga Affair. Trust me, you guys will like this (I hope). We'll be seeing more set up for future chapters. Also, I left some clues in this chapter. I'm curious to see if my story is as transparent as I seem to think it is. **Spoiler end!**

Anyway, who's ready for more profiles!

* * *

 **Character Bio**

 **Name:** Okami Nure

 **Position:** Okami Clan Advisor

 **Affiliation:** Konohagakure

 **Ninja Rank:** Tokubetsu Jonin

 **Age:** 15

 **Blood Type:** A

 **Birthday:** April 13

 **Family:** Okami Moe (Cousin)

 **Height:** 157.48 cm

 **Weight:** 46.72 kg

 **Favorite Foods:** Sushi

 **Hobbies:** Dancing, writing, tea ceremonies, bird watching.

 **Nature Type:** Yin-Yang Release (In'yoton), Water Release (Suiton)

 **Notes:** Her ranking is a result of her mastery of nearly any water jutsu she gets her hands on. The rest of her ninja training requires a little more work, hence why she isn't full jonin.

* * *

 **Character Bio**

 **Name:** Okami Moe

 **Position:** Okami Clan Advisor

 **Affiliation:** Konohagakure

 **Ninja Rank:** Jonin

 **Age:** 19

 **Blood Type:** B

 **Birthday:** July 11

 **Family:** Okami Nure (Cousin)

 **Height:** 182.88 cm

 **Weight:** 55.34 kg

 **Favorite Foods:** Anything spicy.

 **Hobbies:** Origami, smoking, tormenting Nure.

 **Nature Type:** Yin-Yang Release (In'yoton), Fire Release (Katon)

 **Notes:** Nothing of note here, move along.

* * *

So yeah, there you go, if I think of more things to add, I'll post these again later as info becomes relevant. Anyway, as always, Review and see you later!


	6. The Hyuga Affair

I am so sorry for the long wait! More on that later, you don't to read my blathering, you want to read the story!

I do not own Naruto or Okami. I'm just a crummy fanfic writer.

Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter Six

The Hyuga Affair

.xXx.

* * *

"NO BATH!"

These words rang through the halls of the Okami compound as a tiny figure made a mad dash for freedom as an exasperated Rasu chased after it.

The now three year old Ammako was making her displeasure known as she made her escape from the dreaded bath.

This had become a common occurrence for the Okami, as Ammako's hatred of taking baths was well known to the clan members. At first it was just crying anytime she was placed in water, later turning into a fight for control as she thrashed about, to what it was currently where she would vanish as soon as she got wind that a bath was imminent. If she happened to be found she would take off like a dog with its tail on fire, as was the case right now.

Rasu made an attempt to grab the fleeing child, but Ammako made a hard turn at the last second, barely taking her out of reach.

' _How can she already be this fast?'_ Rasu thought to herself as she hastily corrected her turn to keep her daughter in view, for she knew that the second she lost sight of her she'd have to look for her all over again.

Granted, she wasn't going as fast as she was able to, but the fact that Ammako was able to stay just ahead of Rasu without her going all out was impressive; something to look at for future training.

Rasu noticed that she finally got some luck as the hall they were barreling down right now was long and all the doors would be closed. Putting in an extra burst of speed she managed to get her arms around her energetic daughter.

Ammako let out a shriek, knowing that her escape had been thwarted. She attempted to struggle out of her mother's grasp, but she just didn't have the strength. All she could do was let out little defeated whimpers. Rasu knew better though. The pathetic sounds Ammako was letting out right now were a ploy to garner sympathy and make whoever was holding her drop their guard. Once they did, she would escape and the chase would start anew.

"No bath." Ammako pouted.

"Yes bath. I let you go yesterday, but today's important."

Great big fat tears had started to stream out of her golden eyes and down her face, as they always did when she realized that she had no other choice but to give into the wishes of her mother.

"Now, don't be like that Ammako-chan." Rasu consoled her child. "You wouldn't want Hinata-chan to see her best friend covered in dirt at her birthday now would you?"

At the mention of the Hyuga clan heir, Ammako's face quickly went from anguish to cheerful curiosity.

"Nata?" she asked as the tears stopped flowing and a small smile replacing her frown.

Rasu shifted the child in her arms now that she wasn't giving her the usual struggle now.

"Yes, Nata-chan is going to be where we're headed. You need to be your best. "

This seemed to pacify Ammako as she ceased all attempts to free herself and now calmly rested in Rasu's arms. Rasu knew that Ammako still didn't want to take a bath, but at least she would do so without a fuss now.

.xXx.

* * *

Sano Katsuo made his way through Konoha, taking note of any possible route that may be taken. Katsuo, head ninja of Kumogakure, followed his escorts as they led him to meet the Hokage.

' _That alley could be a decent place to lose pursuers if I come through this area. That shop has decent space to run through with things to knock over.'_ Katsuo made notes of whatever he could. Despite what his official business here today was his true mission was pretty much the exact opposite. So deep in thought he was, he missed what one of his escorts had just asked him.

"I'm sorry. What did you just say?" he asked.

"Your meeting isn't for another hour, is there anything you would like to do in the meantime?"

"Any place good you could recommend to eat?"

"Ah, yes. Yakiniku Q is a pretty popular barbeque place."

"Excellent, let's head there." Best not to push where he said they should go, it wouldn't do to tip them off too soon. They were after all just finishing hostilities to each other, but trust wouldn't just be handed out. Odds are that there were at least three other escorts tailing him that he didn't see. If he wanted to succeed in his mission he needed to buy the time and trust he needed to do just that.

He continued to make mental notes of the village as they headed towards the restaurant. Once again though, he failed to notice when he ran into something that crossed his path.

Looking down he saw a mop of bright yellow hair attached to a small figure.

"Sorry." the child said hastily, he couldn't have been more than a few years old.

Oddly enough, before Katsuo could even reply, his escorts reacted first.

"Hey you brat! Get out of here! Do you even know who you ran into?!"

"You're lucky we have more important things to do! Now scram before we change our minds!"

The boy took off as fast as his little legs could carry him, though, Katsuo noticed, it didn't appear out of fear. If anything the boy was already taking off before the ninja yelled at him. Not that it mattered. Though, for some reason he couldn't quite place, he got a familiar feeling off the child.

' _Irrelevant. Focus on the mission.'_ He thought as he turned to follow his escorts.

.xXx.

* * *

"There, now you look nice and pretty for the day."

Ammako, now clad in a navy blue kimono with red trim, had nary a trace of the prior dismay she had before. Now excited that she was going to go meet with her best friend, she could barely contain herself as they left the room.

"Nata birday!" she said delightedly.

"Birthday. Bir **th** -day."

"Birday!"

' _Well, she's still young.'_ Rasu thought to herself. As she stood up she caught sight of Ishaku making his way toward her. "Why don't you go wait in the main hall sweetie, Mama has to speak with Oji-san."

Ammako almost immediately took off, going as fast as her little legs could carry her. Rasu turned to meet Ishaku. Definitely a man who had lived a full life, the aged Head of the Pon family just held the look of a kindly grandfather.

"Ishaku, what brings you here today?" Rasu asked as she gave the old man a loving hug that he returned.

"I heard from the attendants that you were going to try and give Ammako-chan a bath today and I figured that I would come and watch the ensuing chase. Seems my old legs didn't get me here fast enough though." he said with a chuckle. "Other than that, a package from my grandson arrived today. The usual things were inside, some trinkets, a photo or two, a copy of his latest work, and the usual letters." He reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll. "His letter to you, as always."

"Ah, thank you Ishaku. Where is my wayward otouto this time?"

"Package says it came from Sora no Kuni, though it must have taken weeks for it to get here from there. He could be anywhere right now."

Rasu let out a sigh. Her surrogate younger brother had gotten a case of wanderlust the previous year and started to get incredibly antsy while in the village. Deciding to do something about it, he went to the Hokage and requested a long term mission outside the village walls; one that would allow him to travel extensively. It wasn't given easily as the only type of missions like that were the infiltration and information gathering ones taken by Jiraiya. How he managed to swindle a mission like that was a mystery to all but the Hokage.

Of course, he did all this without first consulting with any of his family. The first they had heard of it was when they had to go to the Hokage to file a missing person's report, only to be told he had taken a mission.

Rasu wasn't too thrilled to hear that he just took off without a word to anyone other than the Hokage. The first package he had sent was filled to the brim with items, mostly to those he wanted to apologize to, though it felt too little too late for Rasu. It took her months to even look at the letters he wrote her. The first few were him begging for forgiveness. Later he simply would tell her about the things he had seen and the people he had met. He would usually send a copy of whatever piece he worked on to her was well.

The packages he sent were not actually labeled to be delivered to the village, but to a proxy location that would set aside any package marked with a special seal that would be later be picked up and carried back to the village. The reports for the Hokage were sent through different channels, so he never sent anything in reference to his mission with the care packages, which were sent to sell his cover.

His cover was that of a wandering artist. He traveled village to village, city to city, all to gain inspiration for his art. Of course, that was just to hide the fact that he was gathering any and all kinds of intel. From what the Ishaku could gather, he also served as another resource that Jiraiya would use to receive or send information.

As it stood, it didn't look like he would be returning to the village anytime soon. Rasu looked down at the scroll she was just handed. She still felt the sting of his abandonment. She was hurt that he just left without first talking to her about it. Even though she started to read his letter, she had yet to actually respond to any of them. She wasn't angry anymore, but she still hadn't forgiven him.

"I'll read this later. Thank you Ishaku."

"It's no trouble at all Rasu-chan. Give my best to Himiko-san and Hinata-chan for me will you?"

"Of course Oji-san." Rasu giggled as Ishaku made his way back towards his room.

' _Now, where has Ammako-chan run off to now?'_

Almost as if on cue, there was a loud crash followed quickly by someone shouting the name of a certain heiress.

' _Ah, there she is.'_ Rasu thought as she started walking towards the disruption.

.xXx.

* * *

"Are the preparations complete?"

"I already told you, everything is set up. Stop hassling me about it."

"This is an important part of my plan Hayazo. We only have one shot at this."

"I know that. You've said so every five kami forsaken minutes since we got here! Everything is set up. We only have to wait for the right moment. Trust me; I steal things for a living. How hard could it be to steal a person?"

.xXx.

* * *

The Grand Hall of Hokage tower had seen very little use over the years. It wasn't often that a need to use it ever came along. Despite that though, it had near constant upkeep, something that kept the genins paid. The Hall was meant to hold important events within; ninja, however, are a pragmatic bunch. Holding such grandiose events is just asking for trouble, having so many important figures located in one open area.

So when something comes along that demands ceremony, steps are taken to make absolutely certain that their enemies aren't going to rain down death and destruction upon them while they're all in one spot. Security was at an all-time high around the tower; no one was getting in or out without at least twenty ninja knowing about it.

This is what Katsuo had expected. Hence why he wouldn't be so stupid as to try and acquire his target while in this particular building. That would be later, under the cover of darkness and after he was seen as an ally to the village. A shame really, seeing as his target wasn't that far away from him at the moment.

It was true, The Hyuga's being a prominent clan in the village meant that they had access to front row seating to witness the signing of the peace treaty between Konoha and Kumo. How easy it would be to use a chakra flare to blind them, rush forward and acquire the target. If it wasn't for the many layers of security on the building, it would be the perfect opportunity. Shame. But that was why he would made his plans the way he did.

' _Can't drop my cover so soon now can I?'_ Katsuo thought smugly to himself.

The Hokage himself was giving a long winded speech about the virtues of peace and cooperation between villages, a sentimental old fool's delusion. Then again, if it wasn't for that, he wouldn't have had this chance to obtain the coveted Byakugan for his village. Their loss, his gain.

Off the stage and in the seats, Himiko sat with her daughter, staring up at her husband. It wasn't a polite stare. Today was their daughter's birthday and he made them come to this boring event. True, it was an important day for the village and she understood the importance of the clan heads being present for the signing, but why did he have to bring her and Hinata? None of the other clan heads brought their families. This is one of the reasons that she didn't like the Hyuga clan's uptight adherence to tradition.

' _I could be at home getting the party finished up.'_ She thought with a hint of annoyance. _'Rasu is bringing over Ammako-chan. Tsume is bringing Kiba. Yoshino is bringing Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino. I wonder if Mikoto talked to her husband about bringing over Sasuke. There is just so much that I need to make sure is ready!'_

Despite having a host of branch family members that could take care of setting things up, she really just wanted to make everything was perfect. Call her over-doting, she didn't care. She just wanted to see her daughter laugh and smile with her friends. Anything to distract her from the thought of Hizashi's son getting branded today was well.

Himiko had started fiddling around with her necklace, a habit she used instead of twiddling her fingers together like she did when she was younger. The only keepsake she had of her own mother, it was a simple glass ball with a design of leaves decorating its underside and had a ribbon that wrapped gently across it.

Hiashi of course saw this from his position on the stage.

' _Himiko… I thought you had stopped doing that.'_ He thought. _'She must be thinking about Neji.'_

Himiko wasn't the only one annoyed with the timing of this signing. Hiashi himself wasn't too pleased that this was getting in the way of his daughter's birthday. There always seemed to be something that got in the way of him being there for his daughter on this day. First it was an important meeting that made him late to the birth of Hinata. Next was an unexpected mission he had to take for the Daimyo. Lastly, and perhaps the most aggravating, was last year when a false alarm had him helping with searching the through the forest surrounding the village for a supposed spy. It took all day!

This year he had been hoping to actually be there for his daughter's birthday, but then this popped up. Important yes, but a father could only handle so much, even less so for a Clan head. He knew his wife was going to tear into him as soon as the day came to an end. Kind and gentle as she was, the woman could be terrifying when she needed to be.

' _I'm sorry Himiko, but this is the best I could do…'_ he started planning out his apology in advance. _'Maybe I could pick up some of those cinnamon flavored mochi she likes so much.'_

Hiashi was knocked out of his thoughts when he saw the Kumo Head Nin stand up and walk towards the Hokage. It seemed that the signing was about to take place. He watched as the Kumo nin smiled to the crowd as he signed the treaty, followed by Hiruzen putting his signature down. A shaking of hands, more smiles to the crowd and the ceremony was complete.

It was at that point, when Hiashi noticed that something was wrong.

Even without his Byakugan activated his eyesight was impeccable. He quickly noticed that the guards stationed at the back of the room were not making their rounds as they should have been. Looking up to the balcony, where even more guards were supposed to be, he failed to see them as well. He activated his doujutsu and scanned the immediate area.

Of course, it was too late by then.

Just as he turned on his byakugan, a bright flash engulfed the room, penetrating his vision and leaving him blinded. Not just him, but everyone else in the room suddenly couldn't see.

' _Chakra flare!'_ Hiashi thought, for nothing else would be able to disable the byakugan in such a fashion.

Whatever had taken out everybody's vision lasted for only a few minutes. It was hard to make out what was going on as everyone was shouting at once. Only more questions were raised however once people's vision started to return, as nothing seemed to have happened while they were blind.

Katsuo was as confused as everybody else. This wasn't part of his plans. Before he could even begin to think more about what was happening, he suddenly felt himself being tackled to the floor of the stage.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER!?" a furious female voice yelled at him.

"What? How should I know?"

"Don't give me that Kumo! Your village is always after kekkei genkei!" her violet eyes flashing dangerously.

"I didn't do anything! I was up here, shaking the Hokage's hand! We're allies now! Why would I take your daughter?" he said was quick as he could. It wouldn't help him right now if it was to be known that he was going to kidnap the Hyuga heiress later. But really, he had nothing to do with this current predicament.

"Himiko-san, stand down." said an authoritative voice.

"He has my daughter Hokage-sama!"

"He does not. He speaks the truth. I was next to him the whole time."

"But then where is my daughter? Where is Hinata?"

"I don't know. Whatever was used in here, it was meant to take out all forms of vision. Nobody saw anything."

Hiashi had just now been able to pull himself together, his vision returning slowly. As angry as he was right now, he had to keep a clear head. It was the only thing keeping him from doing the same as his wife and attempting to turn the Kumo Nin into a smear on the ground.

"Hokage-sama, I saw that the guards in the back and up in the balcony were all taken out. We need to see what became of them. I can't look right now, my vision is still recovering."

"Hiashi! What about Hinata?" Himiko shouted at her husband.

"I know, we'll get her back. And I will personally make sure that whoever took her will pay. But right now we need to make sure everyone is alright."

Katsuo began to think this may be a blessing in disguise.

' _If I can find this thief before they do, I can take them out and make a run for the border before they even figure it all out.'_

"If I may offer my services Hokage-sama, I am well trained in tracking."

"Hold for now, we have our own specialists arriving here in a minute. We'll organize and break to track down whoever kidnapped the heiress." Hiruzen said as he did a quick scan of the surrounding area.

Looking down at the floor, Hiruzen noticed a pattern. A quick study showed that it was fuinjutsu markings, rather novice ones at that. He noticed a mixture of several seal patterns, nearly all of them used in seals that were meant to impair the opponent's vision. There were seals for chakra flares, darkness seals, regular flares, mist, and even a seal that had mirror like qualities. There were even some that generated random noises. By themselves, none could really be considered a major threat, but in this configuration, they had managed to disable an entire room of ninja.

' _Creative.'_ Hiruzen thought.

"Hokage-sama." A chunin approached with a report. "We found the guards. They all had passed out while making their rounds. We don't know how yet."

"Probably a genjutsu. Don't know what kind could do that. Any casualties?"

"None Hokage-sama. All were only unconscious."

" _This is starting to look like the only goal here was to steal away the Hyuga heiress. Why though? Ransom? Her bloodline?'_ Hiruzen couldn't pin down the why, he needed more information.

It was then that his tracking squads began to filter into the hall.

"Squads! Fan out over the village. The Hyuga clan Heiress has been kidnapped. We don't know by who or why yet, but I want answers by within the next hour! Move out!" he ordered.

Hiashi had recovered by this time and was about to join the other trackers when the Hokage held him back.

"Hiashi-san, I need you here."

"But, Hokage-sama!"

"I know, you want to be out there looking for your daughter, but right now I need your help to find clues that may have been left behind."

Hiashi clearly wanted to disobey his orders, Hiruzen could see it on his face. But the amount of discipline that the Hyuga's are known for won out.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

.xXx.

* * *

"See, what did I tell you? Went off without a hitch." Hayazo said smugly as he set his prize down before his employer. "Ninja are overconfident in their abilities and skills, use something they think won't harm them and you have the element of surprise."

"Impressive." The figure said as he looked at the bundle before him. "How long do you think you can distract them for?"

"Depends on who they send. If it's one of their elite I may only be able to hold their attention for an about a thirty minutes, maybe more. Anyone else I should be able to lead on a wild goose chase for a few hours. Once they realize who I am though, you can expect them to send their best after me."

"That'll be more than adequate. I will be done well before then. Get out of the village as soon as you think you'll be caught."

"Pfft, no one has ever managed to capture the Infamous Hayazo. Besides, I'll be gone long before they realize that they never stood a chance." said the master thief as he left the room.

Turning back into the room, the figure glanced down at the asset he and his accomplice went to great lengths to apprehend. Before him was the form of Hyuga Hinata.

' _Well then, let's get started.'_

.xXx.

* * *

Katsuo leapt from building to building, his eyes peeled for anything that stood out of the ordinary.

' _Not that I even know what counts as ordinary in this village. Could have sworn I saw some guy spouting something about youth back there.'_ he thought to himself as he scanned for anything that could be considered out of place.

He hadn't taken more than a few steps after thinking this when he heard an explosion go off a block away from him.

' _Hmm, explosion. I think that counts as out of place.'_ he thought as he turned to investigate. _'I better hurry, that was bound to have attracted attention.'_

Little did the Head Kumo nin know, there were other similar explosions going off around the village.

"What's going on?" The Hokage demanded as he appeared at the nearest location.

"An unknown person was seen trying to avoid detection in this area sir! A unit was dispatched to investigate. Upon arrival the target attempted to evade capture, but we managed to trap him in an alleyway. Upon seeing that escape was impossible, he detonated." the Jonin in charge said.

Hiruzen's face turned white. "He wasn't carrying anything was he?"

"Not that anyone saw, his hands were empty."

The old Hokage let out a breath of relief, if he died without Hinata in his grasp then there was a chance to still find her.

"Sir, there are reports of multiple explosions happening around the village. All follow a similar MO as this one, target sighted, chased into a corner and then he detonates."

"What kind of damage are we looking at?"

"That's just it sir, all of the explosions have left little to no damage on our structures."

' _No damage? This is starting to sound familiar. Where have I heard this tactic being used before?'_ Hiruzen thought, thinking through what he knew of what was happening right now. A flash of recollection struck him.

"Someone get me a Bingo book, now!" he ordered.

He didn't have to wait long to receive one. Quickly scanning through it he soon found what he was looking for.

"Hayazo of the Endless Clones, Rank B threat, wanted for the theft of numerous high value items and besmirching the honor of nobles everywhere." Hiruzen could only grimace at that line. Clearly a noble wrote this page. "Capable of creating seemingly endless amounts of clones as primary means of combat and to cause distractions. Known to use low powered explosive seals to escape custody."

Hayazo was well known to the Hokage as the nobility often demanded the aid of his ninja to capture the thief. Despite that though, no mission was ever given in regards to the man. He never targeted ninja villages nor did he ever come into conflict with ninja outside of them. He has never once used his skills to kill anyone, he merely target goods and left it at that. His ranking was more or less given because the nobles demanded he be captured and whenever someone did take it the mission often ended with them humiliated and Hayazo still free.

So what was he doing in Konoha? Obviously this wasn't a coincidence. The kidnapping of a clan heiress and the appearance of one of the most sought after thieves in the elemental nations happening at once could only be connected.

"This is a distraction. Hayazo is keeping our forces busy while whoever has the Hyuga clan heiress is getting away. I want every squad available at the walls and then I want the tracker squads outside the village picking up whatever trail they can." Hiruzen ordered.

"Hai!" his ninja said as they took off to carry out his orders.

Hiashi meanwhile had spent that last hour and a half going over the Hall, trying to find anything that could be helpful in locating his daughter.

' _I shouldn't be in here, I should be out there, searching! Even Himiko went out there and she isn't even a kunoichi.'_ Hiashi bitterly thought as he angrily scanned the room.

Granted, he was the closest Hyuga at the time, who better to look around the room than the head of the clan. But he is the head of the clan, his eyes were the best. On one hand, there was no one else to go over the room better than he. On the other, there was no one better than he to search for his daughter. The conundrum of this infuriated Hiashi to no end.

He went over the seals on the floor, walls, and, oddly enough, the ceiling. Whoever planted these seals didn't take any chances. They wanted to make sure that everyone would be deaf and blind while they took his daughter. It wasn't a mystery to Hiashi why, they wanted her eyes. The Byakugan. She was a member of the Main family, meaning she wouldn't have the seal that would shut away her eyes.

Trying to get his thoughts away from his annoyance with being stuck in the building, he went over every inch of the room. As he began to calm down, he started to notice a couple things. First was that these seals were at least a few weeks old. Second was that there was a portion of the building that he couldn't see into. Considering where he was, this wasn't all that odd, several rooms in the Hokage Tower were sealed so that even the Byakugan couldn't see into them. What struck him as odd was the room he was looking at shouldn't have been one of those rooms. He made it a point to know exactly which rooms, buildings, and areas in the village were sealed in such a way. For one to pop up was immediately considered suspicious.

Following the hall to this newly sealed room, he noticed that the hall leading to it was neat. Too neat. Cleared of everything that could possibly get in the way of a potential escape. Looking at the walls, he even noticed some spots where frames should be hanging had been taken down.

' _Not taking chances were they.'_

Once he got to the door of the sealed off room, he got into his juken stance, preparing for whatever may come. Once he was ready, he threw open the door and charged in. Quickly scanning the room, Hiashi failed to find anyone inside of it. From the looks if things it used to be a simple storage room, however, right now everything was moved to the back clearing up space for what was near the door. Another seal, more complex than the ones he had found in the main hall.

' _I could have sworn I've seen seals like these ones before.'_

A moment of thought was all he needed to remember.

' _Ah, yes, these look like the seals that The Yondaime used on his kunai. Teleportation seal? It looks as though this one doesn't go very far, probably still in the village. Most likely a sister seal on the other side. It has to be what they used to get out of the building so quickly. It looks like I can activate it again, I just need to figure out what hand seals were used.'_

A few minutes of looking over the seal and experimentation later and Hiashi felt that he could properly execute the hand seals needed to activate the teleportation seal.

' _I'm coming Hinata.'_

Hiashi stood on the seal and quickly went through the series of hand seals. Upon finishing he felt himself go through a sensation that he could only describe as being sucked into a hole that was too small and then spat out with all the force of a cannon. This wasn't what happened, but it certainly felt like it.

As soon as Hiashi could felt he could stand again, he took stock of his surroundings. He was in a basement, he knew that much, where he didn't really know. An area of the village he didn't frequent much from the looks of things. On the far side of the room he saw what he was looking for. A man was standing over a small figure on the table, but it was the object next to the both of them that made Hiashi's mind go red with rage. A jar with two spherical objects within.

"Ah, I was expecting you to show, though I did not anticipate you this soon." the man said.

"You're dead! Hiashi screamed as he charged the man who had taken his daughters eyes. As soon as he got within range he drove his fingers towards the man's heart. The man quickly parried the blow with his own hand and followed up with a kick to Hiashi's midsection.

Hiashi managed to evade the kick, but it made him step back, giving the man plenty of space to maneuver now.

"Hyuga-san, I know what this looks like, but I need you to stop an…" the man started to say, but Hiashi wasn't in a listening mood. Hiashi had started up his assault again, this time aiming a strike to the man's arms and legs. The man avoided these strikes as well, making no moves to counter Hiashi's precise movements.

Hiashi still hadn't completely recovered from his trip through the seal, his reflexes slower than they should've been. This only served to infuriate him more as he sent strike after strike towards the man who stole his daughter.

The man for the most part was dancing around Hiashi's strikes as if they were being thrown by a novice of the Juken. He would almost appear bored if it wasn't for the look of urgency on what Hiashi could see of his face.

"I don't have time for this." The man said, reaching for a spot on the wall.

"You'll have all the time you need when I put you in the ground filth!" Hiashi yelled as he drove another strike toward the kidnapper. It didn't get close though, as the man managed to get his hand on some kind of seal that had been placed on the wall. Hiashi was suddenly overcome with exhaustion, his legs no longer able to support him.

"What did…?" was all he managed to get out before he fell unconscious.

The man walked over to Hiashi and placed his fingers against his neck.

"Good, it didn't kill him. Can't have that now can we." He said to himself as he went back to the table.

The little girl on the table let out little steady breathes, slightly rustling the bandages over where her eyes would be.

' _Now to complete what I need to.'_

.xXx.

* * *

Katsuo was getting tired; getting tired of running into explosions. It seemed every time he thought he was about to find the thief, it would just be another exploding clone.

' _This is not what I signed up for when I took this mission. Get in. Get the girl. Get out. That was it. I didn't sign up to get an explosion to the face if I go down the wrong alleyway! I've been at this for three hours now!'_

Katsuo was now jumping through a park, as far from innocent looking alleyways that he could get while still looking like he was searching.

' _Alright, think. Clearly this mission is shot. Even If I manage to get to the real kidnapper before anyone else, there is no way I'm going to get away with the girl now. If she is recovered, she's going to have security on her like stink on shit. If not, there's no way of telling where they managed to take her away to. And now Kumo is an ally to Konoha, not what was supposed to happen with this trip.'_ Katsuo thought as he continued to leap through the trees.

' _I'll be lucky if A doesn't rip my spine out through my throat when I send him my report.'_

"Damnit!" a voice shouted out.

Katsuo slowed his progress and landed on a branch. Below him was a figure that looked decidedly like one of the clones that he had been chasing. From the looks of things, the man had just tripped over a branch.

The Kumo shinobi watched as the man got up off the ground, all the while grumbling under his breath.

"Really? Master thief and I trip over a kami forsaken branch? I must be tired."

Katsuo couldn't believe it. Right in front of him the man he had been searching for all day. How could this not be the original? As far as he knew, none of the clones had said anything. Looking around the man, he noticed a distinct lack of Hyuga heiress.

' _I don't see her anywhere. Maybe if I follow quietly behind him, he'll lead me to her. I could still make this mission work.'_ Katsuo thought excitedly as the thief began to walk off. Katsuo waited a few moments before he began following.

.xXx.

* * *

Hiashi's head was pounding. His whole body was aching. He tried to open his eyes only for his headache to increase tenfold. Shutting them quickly, he tried to take a few deep breaths and figure out his situation. Based off how his body was feeling, he could only assume he was suffering chakra exhaustion.

' _If that's the case, I probably don't have enough chakra to use my byakugan.'_ he thought bitterly to himself.

He tried opening his eyes again, slowly letting them adjust and lessening his pain. When he was able to keep them open with tolerable levels of pain he took in his surroundings. He was now in a different room than where he had fallen unconscious in. It looked to be a large storage closet, if the items inside of it were anything to gauge from. A single door led into the room which was lit by a lone dim bulb hanging from the ceiling. After a short struggle to turn his head, he looked at the wall behind him. Nothing special there, just a medium sized window near the ceiling of the room that he had no hope of reaching in his current state.

Grunting as he moved back to his original position, he could only mildly despair as he was left with little information as to how he could improve his current situation. With nothing new to think on, his mind went over what he did know. Namely what he saw when he first arrived at this place. The strange man he encountered he couldn't remember much of, his features were obscured by the clothing he was wearing, so no hope of identifying him there.

His next memory filled him with dread. The vision of the jar with the spherical objects within it. He tried to tell himself that it wasn't what he thought, but he knew that there was little hope of it not being that. Why else would this person steal away his daughter? What else could be gained? Nothing Hiashi thought of could rid him of the knot of fear and anxiety within.

The aches and pains he had been feeling were slowly weakening, but nowhere near fast enough. Several minutes passed before he felt that he was at the very least able to pull himself up off the floor into a sitting position.

' _This is taking too long. I need to get up, I need to save Hinata.'_

Above his head the sound of a door opening and slamming suddenly filled the small room he was in followed by footsteps walking across the room. Hiashi fell back onto the floor and immediately faked still being unconscious. He followed the steps as they stopped and he heard the sound of anther door opening. The steps then began to go down what could only be stairs. Whoever it was, they were coming down to the basement.

Hiashi tried to focus on his hearing the best he could, though he cursed himself for not keeping up his training in this regard. As the Hyuga clan head, he didn't often get combat related missions, often being sent on diplomatic or negotiation related missions instead. Even though he kept up in his juken training and kept his body fit, he let his other disciplines fall to the wayside since his days as an active jonin.

' _If we make it out of this, all that is going to change.'_

Straining as hard as he could, he was finally able to hear more of what was happening, though it was not what he expected.

"Alright, I led them on a 3 hour long chase. Did you managed to finish what you needed?" Hiashi heard a voice say.

"I completed what I set out to do, yes. I thought I told you to get out of the village. Why are you still here?" said the voice of the man he had heard earlier.

"You still haven't paid me the other half that you promised for doing this. I'm just here to protect my payment." The other voice said in a joking tone.

"If that's what you need to tell yourself at night. We should get out while we can. I don't know how much longer my exit strategy will be viable."

Hiashi felt panic wash through him. HE couldn't let these men get away, not after all they have done. He had to move, he had to do something. So frantic he was that Hiashi failed to notice as the window opened up and a figure slipped inside.

Katsuo didn't know what to expect when he followed the thief to this building in the park. He didn't know what he would encounter when he saw this window and decided to go inside. Seeing the Hyuga clan head on the ground was not on his list of possible threats.

By now Hiashi had realized that he wasn't alone in the room and looked back at the man he had been on stage with earlier. Both men could only stare rather dumbfounded at each other, neither expecting to see the other in this place.

Katsuo found himself at a loss. When he had first arrived at this village, he would've given his left arm and leg to be in this kind of position. The Hyuga leader at his feet, weakened beyond belief. Nothing stopping him from taking those eyes that his village had coveted for years. Now, after all he had gone through, he wasn't sure how to proceed.

' _This day has not gone at all how it should've. For all I know, if I tried to take his eyes, that would be the moment Konoha forces would show up just in time to catch me red handed.'_

A moment of thought and Katsuo bent down, a kunai in his hand. Hiashi felt another pang of fear go through his body, not knowing what would happen. His fears went unwarranted though, as the Kumo head nin merely sliced the ropes binding Hiashi's hands together.

"What happened?" he asked Hiashi.

"No time. The men are in the next room. They're about to leave. You must stop them. I can't move, you're my only chance." Hiashi hurriedly said.

Katsuo quickly went to the door and cracked it open. His thoughts were all over the place. The chance to take those eyes came and went so rapidly that he was lost on what action he should take. Right now, he focused on possibly still obtaining the eyes of the heiress. It seemed the best way, if he could pull it off. Once he got to the door he peered into the next room. A quick scan told him that it was empty, at least from what he could see. Turning to look back the Hyuga, who appeared to be struggling just to put himself in a sitting position.

"Can you move?"

Hiashi found that in this position he had a harder time breathing and simply shook his head.

Katsuo gave a curt nod and opened the door as quietly as he could. Stepping into the next room he took in as much detail as he could. The room itself was nothing special. Anything that had been in here had been moved, more than likely to make room from what was interesting.

Scrawled over every surface that he could see was a massive seal. Katsuo himself was only briefly trained in the art of seals, so he could only make out a handful of the kanji that went into making this particular one. At the center of the seal was a table just large enough to hold something the size of a small child. On closer inspection, the seal looked to have been used, on what he couldn't say. What he was looking seemed to be the aftermath.

' _Shouldn't the seal have vanished when it was used?'_ Katsuo thought as he inspected the markings left. After a few moments of looking, the remaining imprint appeared to be burn marks of a sort and most of the markings themselves couldn't be identified. Of what he could make out, it seemed that something was sealed away, he just couldn't tell what.

' _Why is it so large though? What would warrant a seal as big as this?'_

The Kumo nin had to push these thoughts out of his head though, he had other things to concern himself with, like whether or not he was going to be able to complete his mission. As easy as it would be to take the eyes of the fallen Hyuga behind him, that would do little to help increase the numbers of Kumo loyal Byakugan users. Improvisation wouldn't help him here, he needed a solid plan if he wanted to leave this village with his prize.

As things stood, he was up against not only Konoha forces, but also an unknown entity. It was clear that the prize they sought was the same, so a degree of competitiveness was inevitable. What bothered him was that he didn't know anything other than his foe made use of clones to hide his movements. From what the Hyuga had said, there was at least one more person than just the thief he followed to get here. So yet another variant he had to figure out.

' _Are they stronger than me? How easily can I take the Hyuga brat from them? If I can, how fast can I leave the village?'_

As much as he wanted to just try and grab the kid and make a run for it, that plan would've worked in the dead of night when no one was prepared to chase him. The village was on high alert now and specifically looking for the girl, he wouldn't make it far. Katsuo could only curse his luck, no matter what angle he tried to visualize, none saw him getting out of the village with the girl.

As he continued to creep down through the room, he started to pick up faint voices coming from behind another door on the opposite side of the room. Stepping as quietly and quickly as he could, he made his way to the door. Focusing on his hearing he tried to make out just what the voices were saying.

"Are you sure you've done everything you wanted to do? Once I activate this thing we won't be able to use it to come back."

"I'm sure. I got what I came for and everything is in place. Konoha forces should be showing up any minute now. It'll be best if we're not here when they arrive."

"Alright, just make sure that everything you want to take with you is in the seal. I'm not coming back for anything you may leave behind."

Katsuo, deciding that now would was his only chance, burst open the door and leapt into the room, kunai in hand.

What he wasn't prepared for was the rush of wind that hit him square in the face, sending him reeling head first into the wall behind him. As the wind died down, Katsuo lay crumpled on the floor unconscious.

Hiashi having heard all this, tried even harder to get himself to move. The best he could do was drag himself along the ground in desperation. He saw the Kumo nin on the floor noting that he probably wasn't going to be moving anytime soon. Ignoring his short term ally, he continued to drag himself to the other door. As he pulled himself the last few feet, he was able to gaze into the room beyond.

The room itself appeared as nothing special, much like the room he took to get to this place, it had been stripped of nearly all contents inside to make room for a seal. Considering that there were no other doors for them to have exited, Hiashi concluded that this seal was yet again another teleportation seal, which was as burned out and indecipherable as the large seal.

Hiashi felt his heart clench in his chest for other than the seal on the floor, nothing else was inside, not the men he was after, not his daughter. His years of Hyuga discipline vanished entirely as he broke down. Tears ran down his face, his breathing become uncontrollable, the sense of helplessness and failure crashing down on him. His daughter was gone, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

His emotions getting the better of him, he let out a roar of despair, anger, and anguish. His chakra flared as he did so, his emotions effectively granting him a boost. Though it didn't last, Hiashi was now at least able to shakily stand. He made his way to the stairs and slowly ascended to the main floor. The flare he shot off would have alerted every nin in the village, best be prepared for when they arrived.

Hiashi was moving to the front door when he heard a slight noise as he passed by what would be the living room. Glancing into the open space, he saw that other than a couch facing away from him, there was nothing else present. He slowly stepped toward the couch, kunai drawn and ready. Moving around to the front of the couch, Hiashi saw a bundled blanket. Hope stirred in his heart as he reached down and pulled the cover off whatever was beneath it.

Hiashi fell to his knees when he saw beneath the blanket his daughter, sleeping as though nothing had happened. The Hyuga parent quickly grabbed up his daughter as he pulled her into the biggest hug he had ever given her. His eyes were closed tight as he hoped beyond anything he had ever hoped for that what he was feeling right now wasn't an elaborate scheme. He bit his tongue to test that, but everything remained as is, with his daughter quietly resting in his arms.

Remembering what he witnessed earlier, Hiashi managed to push his feelings aside as he once again felt his stomach drop as he checked he head. Sure enough, there was a bandage over her eyes. Hesitantly, he began to remove it. Nothing appeared out of place, though her eyes were still closed. Hiashi gently urged his daughter to awaken.

Stirring softly, the Hyuga heiress slowly opened her eyes. Relief washed over Hiashi as he saw that her slightly violet blank irises stared tiredly back at him.

"Papa? What's wrong?" his daughter asked him softly.

Hiashi once again pulled his daughter into a smothering embrace.

' _She's alright. She's alright.'_ his thoughts said again and again as tears streamed down his face.

It was at this moment when Konoha's forces arrived.

Hiashi barely noticed though, as his thoughts were too heavily focused on his daughter. He felt that he somehow managed to answer questions in his current state, which was that of an overstressed and exhausted father. When Himiko arrived on the scene, she walked into the living room to see her husband and daughter both asleep on the couch as Konoha ninja brought up the unconscious Kumo nin.

She went over to her family and sat beside them, tears on her face as she buried it into her husband's chest. Hiashi stirred slightly as he wrapped his arm around her and brought her closer to him. Himiko soon fell into the sleep that had overtaken her two greatest loves.

Hiruzen arrived to see the exhausted family resting. He instructed that they not be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. As nearly everyone was downstairs going over the seals and trying to find any clue they could about the identity of the kidnappers, this wasn't too hard to accomplish.

As Hiruzen watched over the resting family, he could only think about what the whole point of this was. From what he had been told, the heiress still had her eyes and was safely with her mother and father. If the Byakugan wasn't what the kidnappers were after, then what did they need the heiress for?

.xXx.

* * *

At an unknown location, Hayazo and the figure stepped off a seal. The figure stepped over to a table and placed his gear onto it. As soon as he was finished he walked over to a chair and crashed down onto it. Hayazo had gone to the small kitchen, opening the fridge and pulled a couple of drinks from it. He passed one to his employer and then sat on a stool himself.

"So, mission accomplished?" Hayazo asked.

The figure didn't answer immediately, merely staring at the drink in his hands. Sighing, he opened it and took a long drink from it.

"Yeah, mission accomplished."

"Then why do you look so defeated? We should be celebrating!" Hayazo happily boasted. "Everything went to plan! I can't believe everything happened just as you said it would."

"It didn't. Her father shouldn't have found a way through that seal as fast as he did. He shouldn't have arrived until later."

Hayazo simply shrugged, "You can't predict everything Prophet. People are too chaotic for that."

"Apparently. This could affect my plans in the long run."

"Then learn to adjust. No plan survives the battle field. How do you think I've been around this long? It certainly wasn't because of my kami given good looks." said the bald man as he downed another drink.

The figure sat in his seat as Hayazo decided to enjoy his drink elsewhere. Turning back to his gear, he pulled a jar forth filled with murky looking liquid. When held to the light, two spherical objects could be seen within.

' _These won't be ready to use for years. Until then though, I must continue my plans.'_

The figure turned to look over at a wall covered in papers, some were newspaper clippings and hastily scribbled notes, while others were photos. Among the sheets were strings connecting them all together.

' _The ninja world needs to be prepared for what's coming.'_

.xXx.

* * *

A few days had passed since what is now being called the Hyuga Affair and everything seemed to be going well.

Himiko sat in her dining room, Rasu seated across from her as they both enjoyed tea and mochi. Their daughters were nearby, Ammako staring disdainfully out the window, as winter had decided to finally fall on the village, covering it in white. Hinata was less concerned as she played with one of her dolls.

Rasu was more than a little irate, as she had been unable to see Himiko until today. With the aftermath of the Hyuga Affair, The clan had effectively locked themselves down in their compound while they made sure everything was in order with their clan. They sure that every Hyuga was accounted for once Hiashi and his family returned after rescuing Hinata. They then proceeded to limit who left the compound and when, only sending sealed branch members out to communicate with the rest of the village.

They had only let up on the lock down late last night once everything was accounted. It wasn't until now that Rasu could check on her friend.

"So nothing's wrong? Hinata wasn't harmed in any way?" Rasu asked Himiko.

"She's perfectly alright. Hiashi ordered our medics to look over her as soon as he brought her back here. They gave her a clean bill of health and nothing had been done to her." Himiko stated. "Trust me when I say that I personally had them double and triple check. If those bastards had done anything to anything to my little girl…" she trailed off as she tried not to imagine some of the things that could have happened to her daughter.

"I understand, I don't know what I would do if this had happened to Ammako." Rasu said as she glanced over at her child.

"She's safe and that's all that matters. I hate to say it, but this is the first year that Hiashi was completely devoted to his daughter on her birthday, unfortunate reasons aside that is." Himiko ruefully said.

"Silver linings I guess. I'm just glad that she's safe. Ammako-chan was worried sick when we heard. She wouldn't stop crying until we received news that she had been found. She actually tried to climb out the window to go and help find her. If the circumstances weren't so serious it would've been adorable."

Himiko let out a soft chuckle at that. "Yes, I'm so glad that Hinata-chan has such a good friend. I hope they remain such for as long as possible."

The two woman continued to talk for a couple more hours as their daughters took a nap together. Meanwhile, Hiashi was in his office with Hiruzen seated across from him.

"So, we have nothing."

"We only know that Hayazo had to be the one who did most of the seals, the one in the tower and the one that they used to get out of the village and most likely the one that drained your chakra. The large one in the room has a different style to it and no one has been able to identify what it does. Jiraiya has asked us to leave it alone until he can get back here to examine it, but he doesn't know when that'll be." Hiruzen said.

Hiashi sighed. Their investigation into this whole ordeal has bared little fruit. Aside from knowing that the thief Hayazo played a part in it, there was little else that they knew. Hiruzen had been keeping Hiashi informed on the investigation as best he could, but there was just so little information. Whatever goal they had set out to accomplish remained a mystery.

Why did these men take his daughter? Why did they make Konoha's ninja chase after Hayazo for several hours? As far as anyone could tell, that's all they did. Nothing of importance was taken, no secret files were taken, and no places were broken into. The whole thing reeked of conspiracy but no one could find the proof of it.

"The best we can do is keep our ears to the ground and hope that we can get word of whatever they're planning before it becomes too late." Hiruzen said.

The two men finished their meeting and Hiruzen left. Hiashi continued to sit in his chair, his mind going over every possible detail that he could remember. There had to be something he was missing, but for the life of him he couldn't find it. As much as he wanted to say that this was all some half assed attempt to steal the Byakugan, he just knew that wasn't the case. There was more to this and he would discover what exactly they had done and why they took his daughter to do it.

.xXx.

* * *

A looked up from his paper work as a messenger burst in though his door. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have met with a pretty grizzly end, this messenger however had been ordered to get here as soon as he received word from his head ninja.

"Raikage-sama, urgent message from Sano-san."

"About time, give it here." A said gruffly.

Upon opening and reading the scroll, A's face went through a series of emotions. The messenger stood quietly as he fully expected to send a reply as soon as possible.

B, A's brother in arms and personal bodyguard, watched as A finished reading the scroll.

"So, what did old Sano have to say about his foray into the land of leaf?" he asked, trying to make a rhythm out of his words.

"Mission failure. Other factors came into play that couldn't be accounted for."

A stood and walked to his window and looked out over his village. Kumo was now allied with the Leaf. He never intended for Kumo to actually honor its word with this treaty. Now they didn't have a choice.

"If we want the Byakugan for this village, we're going to have to get more creative in how we do so now." A said.

"I still think that kidnapping a little girl to be weak sauce bro."

"For the good of the village B, for the good of the village." A said as he tried to think of plan. By now the Hyuga's were more than likely going to keep a closer eye on their members. So a quick snatch and grab job wouldn't do it. If they wanted those coveted eyes to be theirs with as little backlash as possible now, he would have to think of something long term.

' _Long term… ... ... I got it!'_

"Get me a list of all children around three to five years of age in the village. It may take a while, but Kumo will have the Byakugan!"

* * *

And Scene!

So this chapter was a tough one, it kicked my butt left and right every paragraph I put down. Even though I got it done, a lot of it still feels clunky to me. I mean, I got everything down that I wanted but still.

But enough of my complaining, what did you guys think? Tell me. I crave your thoughts and words. They nourish me in the cold dark recesses of my lair.

Anyway, lets go over reviews!

So covering all the short ones first, Yes the mysterious figure flying off in a cascade of sakura petals is in fact the beloved goofball Waka. Not saying what he's up to just yet, but we will be seeing more of him.

As for **ChaosKid95:** Did I not mention that no clan in the village will be allowed to adopt Naruto? Pretty sure I did. Trust me, this will be important later. That said the village isn't going to hate Naruto so much as be less than thrilled about his existence. Hate is exhausting to keep going, better to just ignore the object of your displeasure. Other than that, glad that you're enjoying the story so far. Hope to hear more from you.

 **Kuroi Kage Mugetsu:** I already spoke with you about your amazing review, but I will answer some of the things here for the others. I hopefully covered that the Pons are going to be normal humans, well, normal for the Narutoverse. No dwarves here!

And yes, the whole being distracted by the bustiness of certain characters is going to be present in this story. The Okami are artists after all, what artist wouldn't be distracted by an attractive female body?

Anyway, I would like to thank you again for your wonderful review. It's reviews like these that make me write.

So that said, I feel I must make an apology to you guys as I made a rather grievous error in my writing here. First I would like you all to know that as I write this story that I am trying to avoid creating any original characters. Why? Because between both Okami and Naruto, I feel that there is more than enough characters to go around. I have my pick, I just need to make sure that they fit within the story and have purpose there. If they don't fit, they're not in the story.

Because of that, I am also trying to avoid adding things needlessly. I don't want to add things to the story arbitrarily. Everything added will serve a purpose and not just be there because I thought it would be cool. Granted, this is a fanfic so there's going to be stuff like there no matter what, but I would like to think that they serve a purpose by being there. That said, I do believe I added something arbitrarily to the story. Not because I thought it would be cool, but mostly because I didn't know what it was.

I am speaking of the little bios I have been putting on the end of the last couple chapters. Under the three bios under Nature Type, I have given the Okami the In'yoton. Now, I'm not sure how many of you know this, but the In'yoton is freaking OP as all hell. And I just handed it to the Okami without even thinking about it!

So over the past month I have been doing a lot of research on Naruto, in order to have a better basis to work off of. And in doing so I have come up with a fairly solid plot that I feel will make all of you gasp in joy. But like I said, it also shined the light on some things I already added without fully knowing what they were. That being said, I'm not changing it, as oddly enough it works. I have thought of a way to balance it out and make it not so OP and serve as a subplot for later chapters.

So yeah. If anyone noticed that little faux pas of mine, why didn't you say anything?! I was kicking myself in the butt for days after that! I sounded like one of the wish fulfilling weebs in the OP Naruto section!

Anyway, in regards to my last remarks last chapter, No one has said anything about my clues as of yet, so I think my plot is still safe, though I can't say for sure if it'll remain that way by the time you reach here. I planted even more in this chapter, a little more blatantly I might add. So here's hoping more things have fallen into place and you guys will start to see what I'm doing.

Next chapter is the last of the pre-academy years and will end leading up to all our favorite genins (and some new faces) starting at the academy. This next one is going to be a series of one shots over the next two years, so no heavy plot line will be seen, but there will be some backstory and exposition in these little one shots. I hope to have this next chapter out sooner than this one. Once again, I apologize for how late it was. Ah, before I go, I just want to tell you guys that I am on the NarutoFanfiction and Naruto Crossovers (village hidden in the memes) Discord channels if anyone wants to chat and ask questions. Be wary as things can get a little... graphic... over there.

Until next time, see yuh!


	7. Time Goes By

Don't worry guys! I'm not dead yet! Though given how long it took me to get this out, some of you may want to make that a reality. If that's the case, realize that if you do, the rest of the story dies with me.

Haha! more on the bottom.

Regarding the dates throughout this chapter: CE stands for current era. Current Era started when the hidden villages were established. Not sure how accurate it is, but it's what I'm working off of. AK stand for After Kyuubi. Pretty self explanatory I think. See you on the bottom.

* * *

Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter 7

Time Goes By

* * *

 **.xIx.**

 **January 6, 56 CE 3 AK**

"So, what do you make of it?"

Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Hiashi all stood in the room with the remains of the unknown seal. Jiraiya had arrived back in the village a week after the Hyuga Affair and was now going over the strange seal. Jiraiya meandered around the room, poking and prodding areas that interested him. Every now and then the Sannin would jot down notes as well as make verbal comments under his breath.

"I've had the Seal Corps inform me that this seal patterns purpose is to seal things away, other than that, nothing." Hiruzen told his former student. "My own observations revealed nothing new to add."

"Rasu-san had her own seal users go over this room with a fine toothed comb. They weren't able to discern anything we weren't already aware of. As good as they are, they lack your experience Jiraiya-san." Hiashi stated.

Jiraiya turned his attention back to the seal and checked his notes again. With a grimace he turned back to his two companions.

"Well, if you were hoping for me to tell you exactly what this seal is for, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint." Jiraiya said. The Sannin held up his hand to stop any comments. "But, I can tell you what I did get from my own look. Take a look at this."

Jiraiya gestured at a rather smudged seal mark.

"What about it?" Hiruzen asked.

"This mark shouldn't be here; at least not in modern uses of fuinjutsu. If I'm right, this mark connects this cluster," he again gestured to a grouping of seal marks. "to these marks over here." He waved his hand to another nearby grouping. "Nowadays we put those kinds of connections into the matrices that need them. No need to keep separate lines. Whoever made this seal is using an older style of fuinjutsu."

Jiraiya walked over to another grouping of marks.

"Since I know that now, I was able to make some sense of these marks here. These would be redundant to add today, but were essential for the seal to work back then. This cluster here insures that everything would work together. Again, all this is now more streamlined today, these clusters are unnecessary. Now take a look at these individual seal marks right here."

Jiraiya pointed at some markings with the current cluster.

"Notice anything unusual about the kanji used here?"

Taking a closer look at the ruined markings, the other two men weren't able to see what Jiraiya was getting at. They shook their heads no.

"Let me tell you what I think. I think that you two are unable to read the kanji because they're so smudged that they're undecipherable. You're kind of correct. They're smudged a fair deal, but that's not why you can't read them. You can't understand them because they're not even in our language."

"What do you mean not our language?" Hiashi asked.

"Well, not our current language anyway. You can tell that it's similar enough to ours that you get the feeling that it could be, but it's not. This looks like it may have stemmed from the same language, but branched off at some point. I'm not a language expert, so you'll have to take what I say with a grain of salt. But I can definitely say that whoever made this seal isn't from around here."

Jiraiya took a moment to catch his breath. Hiruzen mulled over what his student told him. Sure enough, Jiraiya was able to tell them more than they were able to find on their own, but even that wasn't enough. Even though it was more than they knew before, it still didn't answer any questions. An unknown seal, using an older style of fuinjutsu. Written with kanji from another language. If anything, the Sannin's deductions only raised more questions.

Hiruzen knelt down to get a closer look at the kanji. Squinting his eyes a bit, he could see that Jiraiya was right. The symbols looked alien and familiar at the same time.

"Do you think you can make a rough translation?"

"Already on it. Most of these kanji are too far gone to make out, but this cluster right here appears to be somewhat intact. The markings look similar enough to some of our own, so I should be able to figure out what they say after some research. Which is a good thing; because if I'm right, these markings right here are the ones that will tell us what got sealed." Jiraiya said with a slight smirk on his face. "And as soon as we know what got sealed away, we'll be closer to figuring out why."

"I still would like to know why they took my daughter for this." Hiashi said.

"Right now, it could've been for any reason. Either she kidnapped as a distraction or they needed her for something else. Have you made sure that they left no surprises with her?" the sage asked.

"She's been gone over by my clans' best doctors and seal users; their results have been inconclusive. If there is something to find, they haven't found it yet. My only hope is that we're being paranoid. Given our line of work even doing nothing to her could be a strategic move."

"Well, we'll know once I get these markings translated."

"If that will be all, I have an appointment to keep. Jiraiya-san, Hokage-sama, I take my leave." Hiashi said as left the basement.

Jiraiya watched as the Hyūga went up the stairs. He wrote down a few more notes in his notebook, letting a few minutes pass.

"How is he?"

Hiruzen hesitated for a bit before saying "It's difficult to say. He's doing fine physically, though his emotional development may suffer. The treatment he's receiving at the orphanage is going better than I thought he would. The matron there seems to be accepting of him, though she does seem a bit frightened by his presence. She sent me scroll informing me of her concerns but hasn't raised any more issues on the matter. The children though; they either ignore or bully him. Since the adults don't do anything to admonish them for their behavior towards him. They feel they can do that to him without fear of reprisal. He doesn't seem to take it too personally, but you can see that he has a strong desire to have a friend. He goes to the park daily in hopes of playing with the children there. The parents tell their children to avoid him."

Hiruzen paused and felt the weight of his age.

"He's alone a lot. I do what I can to give him a shoulder to lean on when I can, but I'm not always available to do so. No one has attacked him since he was a baby. The Anbu I have watching over him make sure it stays that way, but they keep their distance." Sarutobi let out a sigh. "He's not abused, but without any emotional support, I can't say for sure how he's doing or how well he'll do in the future. He doesn't appear to let it get to him. He puts up a strong front and pushes forward and vows to make people acknowledge him one day. How he'll do that, I cannot say."

Jiraiya listened to all that his former sensei had told him and processed it.

"So, what are your plans for his future?"

"He's a ward of the village, so he'll have the choice to enroll at the academy like the other orphans. If he chooses to do so, then he'll get an apartment with a monthly stipend to cover his needs. I should be able to give him a little extra out of the trust you set up for him, so he shouldn't suffer financially. He is his parent's son, so it's likely he'll choose to go to the academy. So the only question is whether he'll take after his mother or his father. I plan to reveal to him his burden when he graduates to genin. His heritage when he reaches chunin."

"Not going to wait until he's a jonin?"

Hiruzen's face took on a guilty look. "I don't think I could keep knowledge of his parents that long. The things he's talks about with me Jiraiya, it would break your heart the things he asks. Chunin is fine. He should have enough experience to cope with the knowledge and disciplined enough to stay quiet until he can protect himself."

"You've put a lot of thought into this haven't you Sensei?"

"When I'm not keeping this village together, I concentrate on little else. The boy doesn't deserve the life that fate has bestowed upon him."

Jiraiya finished taking his notes on the seal and stood up, facing his former teacher.

"Do any of those children deserve this life?" he asked, though Hiruzen noted that the question wasn't directed at him. Jiraiya himself could only think of a trio of students he once had.

"There's little point in proposing what-ifs Jiraiya. This is the world we live in, we can't escape that."

Jiraiya was silent for a time. He looked down at his notebook and back at the seal, checking to make sure that he hadn't missed anything important.

"I'll get this checked out and translated if possible. I'll inform you as soon as I get something. Thank you for informing me on Naruto, Sensei." the Sage said as he started heading up the stairs.

Sarutobi watched as his former student left the building into the winter sunset.

* * *

 **.xIIx.**

 **January 6, 57 CE 3 AK**

The day was coming to a close as the sun descended closer to the horizon. The area had a thick blanket of snow, the trees now leafless. A lonely trail with a single bench was all that stood out from the rest of the winter scene. It was here that Hiashi found himself on this winter evening. The Hyūga clan head had only been at this spot for a few minutes. The reason for his being here in the first place was set to arrive any second. Sitting on the bench could have been a bit more comfortable, but given the nature of this visit, Hiashi chose to ignore the cold.

Hearing a low rumbling, Hiashi turned his head only to see a large plume of snow growing closer along the trail. He didn't even need to activate his doujutsu to see the speck of green in front of the snow plume, the cause of the mini avalanche headed his way.

' _Right on time.'_ Hiashi thought as he stood.

The green speck, noticing a person in its way, started to slow. Rather than stopping though, it leapt into the air and came crashing back down near the Hyūga clan head. Standing in the resulting crater was a teen dressed in a sleeveless green leotard with orange leg warmers. The young man also wore a tattered red bandana around his neck. Looking at his face Hiashi couldn't help but notice the boys' large eyebrows and his rather atrocious hairstyle. Upon noticing Hiashi staring at him, the boy climbed out of his crater and stood in front of the clan head.

"Ah, Good Evening Hyūga-sama!" the teen greeted loudly as he gave Hiashi a thumbs up while posing.

Hiashi could only stare in disbelief at the boy, memories of his former teammate surfacing in his mind.

' _Guess the apple does fall far from the tree.'_ Hiashi thought as he shook out of his nostalgia. "Maito-san, I am glad that you decided to meet with me. I would have understood if you didn't want to."

"Nonsense, my father didn't hold anything against you so neither will I. And please, call me Gai!"

Hiashi was taken aback by Gai's words. The things he said and did to Gai's father weren't simple things that could be forgiven so easily. But he also knew that Dai wouldn't lower himself to lying, a trait that he would have most assuredly passed on to his son. If Gai said that his father held nothing against him then that was that.

"I… I don't know what to say Gai-san, I was sure that your father would never forgive me. It seems that I misjudged him and you, I apologize." Hiashi bowed to the green clad teen, much to the boy's embarrassment.

"Ah, please, you don't have to bow. You had something you wanted to ask me?" he said quickly, anything to change the subject.

"I do. I would ask that you not repeat anything that I say to you. If any of what I ask of you this evening gets back to the Hyūga clan elders, my position could potentially be put at risk. Can you do that for me?"

Gai thought for a second and decided that there shouldn't be any harm in listening to Hiashi's request. He nodded.

"Thank you. If it makes you feel any better, this is all so that I can better protect my daughter. I'm sure that you've heard of her kidnapping. During the search, I managed to find the place where they were hiding her. Yet the man that took her managed to disable me by draining my chakra. I was powerless as they escaped. They could have easily taken my daughter with them and I wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop them."

Gai let what Hiashi was telling him sink in. The Hyūga clan head was admitting to him about a moment of weakness. He now knew why Hiashi asked him not to repeat what he was being told. If this got back to the Hyūga elders, they may see it fit to replace Hiashi as clan head. They prided themselves as being one of the strongest clans in the village. To have their leader say that he was helpless would put a tarnish on that image.

"So why ask for my help?"

"I ask because if I remember correctly, your father was working on mastering the eight gates. I ask because I request that you to teach me what you can of the first two gates." Hiashi turned to Gai. "The second gate is the one that replenishes ones chakra correct?"

Gai nodded, but he had a look of discomfort on his face. "I understand why you would ask to learn that. But… my father forbid me from teaching what I know until I have mastered the gates myself. I have only gotten so far on unlocking the fifth gate. So until I have mastered the gates, I'm afraid I must decline teaching you what I know."

Hiashi of course had been expecting something like this. One doesn't teach others about something as powerful as the gates without some kind of stipulation.

"I can respect that. In fact, I expected it. How about a trade? As you know, the Jūken relies on knowing everything about tenketsu points. The Gates themselves are eight of the more important tenketsu. I know that we can help each other develop your mastery of the gates. This will also allow me to gain knowledge on the first two, once you have mastered them of course. I know that there are no short cuts, but your training would go a lot faster with some help. So, what do you say?

Gai was silent for some time, deep in thought.

"I… I need some time to think on this."

"That's all I ask for. Please let me know when you come to a conclusion. There is no need to rush, but I would appreciate it if you would let me know sooner rather than later. Have a pleasant rest of your evening Maito-san."

With that, Hiashi bowed once again and excused himself. Gai himself continued to stand there in the snow and watched as the sun descended below the horizon. He thought about Hiashi's reasons for wanting to learn the first two gates, to protect his daughter. He thought about what his father died for. He thought about what he would do if he was in Hiashi's place. In the end, he saw that there was no choice as he felt that there was only one path that he could take. Tomorrow, he would give Hiashi his answer tomorrow. With that, he ended his training session early and made his way home.

* * *

 **.xIIIx.**

 **May 11, 57 CE 3 AK**

The day was just beginning and Hiruzen was ready call it quits. Staring down at his desk, he wondered what the ramifications would be if he ran away and became a missing-nin. Anything to not have to deal with what he was now. He could deal with the Civilian requests for outlandish things. He could deal with Danzo's machinations from the shadows. He could deal with the mountain of paperwork in front of him. What he had a hard time dealing with right now were his own failures.

' _I should have seen the signs. I should have known this would happen. I should have finished him when I had the chance.'_

The signs had all been there, everything pointed to the sannin betraying the village. The missing villagers, the missing supplies, the blatant disregard for human life. If only he hadn't let his emotions cloud his judgment. He could have stopped his student before things had gotten this out of hand.

Lost in his thoughts, he jumped a little when his secretary buzzed him.

"Hokage-sama, Anbu Elk is here with his report."

Hiruzen quickly got his thoughts in order. "Thank you, send him in please."

Hiruzen watched as his office door opened admitting Anbu Elk, his best investigator. In Elk's arms were several folders filled with papers. Elk walked to the center of the room and stood at attention.

"Hokage-sama, I have gathered as much of Orochimaru's notes that I could find that weren't destroyed. These are the ones that suffered the least amount of damage and don't need reconstruction. If it hadn't been for Anbu Hebi and Ondori we wouldn't even have these. Their skills with water and fire are as you said they were. That's not saying much though as these papers still have burn marks, obscuring much of their content." Elk placed the folders he had on the Hokage's desk. "I thought you would like to go through these yourself. On the off chance that there's anything that should remain classified."

"Ah, thank you Elk. You may continue your investigation. Dismissed."

Elk left, leaving Hiruzen to go over his traitorous students notes. Much as Elk had said, the papers themselves weren't as damaged, but still had scorch and burn marks all over them. This made looking through them a small feat.

' _Hmm, I'm surprised he didn't code these notes, must not have been his most important work. Might as well read through what he has.'_

Hiruzen started to go through the notes and as he thought, most of them weren't important. Most were musings about early experiments. Some were simple thoughts about future studies though most lacked anything of interest. It's no wonder he didn't need a cipher for these notes, they held nothing to hide.

 ** _February 15, Subject 1P762-4A_**

 _Gender: Male_

 _Age: 1_

 _-a - earl- test sub-_

 _\- ect appears to be -. Will have to investigate this trait further as subject grows older. It should be quite interesting to see where this leads and what this ability can be used for. Was unable to take from current home, but this could provide better results in terms of -. Other subjects to mod—i-at-on have unfortu- per- due to -._

 _One of two subjects to potentially survive the injection of the Firs-._

 ** _February 20, Subject K1TU2-3E_**

 _Gender: N/A_

 _Age: N/A_

 _Subject has interesting unstable genetic code. Unable to find origin for this trait, but I will find out the secrets behind this. Subject appears able to alter appe- - a –en-t-c –ve-, potential for su-t-g- staggerin-.- -a -h-as-_

 ** _March 3, Subject 5M809-1P_**

 _Gender: Male_

 _Age: 43_

 _Subject possesses no interesting genetic traits, but shows remarkable resilience to psychological trauma. None too surprising, as subject has led a long and stressful life. I don't expect much of anything new or interesting from subject. But he should provide enough endurance for some of my more strenuous tests._

And so the notes went, listing several subjects he had been studying. No names were on the list, so finding these people would prove to be challenging. If they were alive that is. The bodies they had found so far had not been treated well and many remained unidentified. Looking through the last of the notes, Hiruzen was shocked to see a not only the first name but a familiar one scribbled on the first page.

' _Okami? He was studying them?'_

Hiruzen quickly read through this file.

 ** _December 5, Subjects 4M4T3-5U_**

 _The Okami have proven to be an interesting study. The blood samples from the twelve subjects have proven to be the single most interesting thing I have studied in a long time. I am finding it hard to contain my excitement. The possibilities of the unknown are so intoxicating, I had forgotten._

 ** _March 13, Subjects 4M4T3-5U_**

 _I have made the most interesting discovery today about the genetic code of subjects. I have found that most likely the entire clan has access to an unknown form of nature manipulation. This is very likely the reason they have almost exclusive use of their techniques. By studying those techniques as well as this genetic discrepancy, there does appear to be a close connection between the two. This unknown nature manipulation appears to share traits from both the Inton and the Yōton. Though I have seen those with both I have yet to see this level of synchronization between the two. How they didn't know about it is beyond me, but their loss is my gain. The potential applications their chakra could very well be limitless. I need more tests._

 ** _April 31, Subjects 4M4T3-5U_**

 _The Okami's genetic anomaly has proven to be a treasure trove of information. I have discovered more to this trait. This trait also appears to limit their use of it. How intriguing. The same markers that give them access to this font of power also restricts their ability to us it to its fullest. Is this why they make use of their brush techniques? More tests should provide all the answers I need._

 ** _July 13, Subjects 4M4T3-5U_**

 _I should set my sights on how this nature relates to their brush techniques. These Burashijutsu. I call them such because after all my research, they don't appear to fall into any other category but their own. They're not ninjutsu, genjutsu, or even fuinjutsu. Definitely not kenjutsu or taijutsu. The Okami have been negligent if figuring out the secrets of their techniques, so I will succeed where they have failed. I only regret that I was unable to get subjects from this so called "royal branch" seeing as there are only two of them. Touching either of them would raise too much fuss. The other branches of the family aren't in the village and I have no information on their current locations, so that is also a shame._

 ** _June 1, Subjects 4M4T3-5U_**

 _After much experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that there may be a way to "unlock" this limiting factor on the subjects' chakra. There does appear to be a missing piece or pieces to several tenketsu points that could theoretically be stimulated. By energizing these points, I hypothesize that full access to the Okami's abilities could be done. What that key is remains unknown at this point, but I have utmost confidence that I will discover this._

Hiruzen tried to read through the rest of the notes. He was unable to as Orochimaru went into detail about his experiments on the Okami test subjects. They weren't pleasant. The old Hokage put the charred notes back into their respective folders and gathered them up.

"Megumi, I'm going out for a while. I'll be back in an hour or so." Hiruzen informed his secretary.

Megumi's voice answered an affirmative through the intercom and Hiruzen left his office, folders in his arms.

* * *

Rasu stared down at the documents she had just read, trying to wrap her head around the contents they held. Learning that her missing clan members were kidnapped and experimented on by the deranged sannin affected the clan head. Hiruzen sat nearby in silence, knowing full well that the news he had just delivered to Rasu was going to be emotional for all parties involved. Right now she needed to work through those feelings before any kind of conversation could be carried out.

Rasu hadn't been alone when the Hokage had arrived at her office door, both Ishaku and Yomi had been present. Now they both sat on either side of their leader. Yomi offering a consoling shoulder rub while Ishaku was sitting down with his head hung low.

Rasu, after another few minutes of grief, finally began to reign in control on her emotions. She stopped sobbing, straightened her back, and steeled her eyes. The look in her eye spoke of a dark promise one didn't have a chance to escape. Hiruzen could see once again why she was the leader of the Okami. Orochimaru had taken some of her family; family that she had worked to bring back together. The Sarutobi was glad that look wasn't meant for him.

"I thank you for letting me know the fates of our missing brethren Hokage-sama. It should offer a degree of closure for their families." Rasu managed to say.

"I figured you would want that at least." Hiruzen sighed and his face took on a stern appearance. "Be that as it may, there are some things that we need to discuss about Orochimaru's findings."

Rasu turned to Yomi and gave him a quick nod. Yomi made a quick hand seal and Hiruzen felt as chakra filled the room, a sign that a silencing seal was now in effect. Satisfied that his seal was in place and stable, Yomi gave a slight bow to Rasu. She then faced Hiruzen again, resolve clear on her face.

"I figured as much Hokage-sama. The knowledge revealed in these notes is troubling to say the least. I will answer what I can, but there may be some things that I won't be able to answer." She said.

Hiruzen nodded, curious about why she wouldn't be able to reveal everything to him. He supposed he would find out soon enough, so he figured that he should just start asking questions. Before he could though, Yomi began speaking.

"Hokage-sama, forgive me, but I feel that I should clear up some things before you start asking questions. This may even answer some of them." The aged Okami started. "You must understand that when our clan split all those years ago, much of the knowledge we had about our clan were lost. As I am the oldest Okami in the village, I know the most from before the split. Granted, that's not much, seeing as I was a very young child when the clan broke apart."

"We have spent the last few years trying to find out anything that we could about how and why our clan dissolved. Unfortunately, we haven't found much. What we do know is that our clan was targeted. Why, we don't know. Those who survived weren't those who had access to our clan's secrets. While the families were split, we didn't take the time to try and find out anything as we were too focused on trying to survive." He looked at Rasu, his face overcome with pride.

"That's when Rasu-sama found us. Though not all were in dire straits, some of us were lost without purpose. She brought us all back together as a family. If what Orochimaru has discovered raises any suspicions about our clan. Please know that we are almost as in the dark about our abilities as you are. Everything we know now is the result of what little research we have been able to piece together from scattered pieces." Yomi finished.

Hiruzen thought on Yomi's word for a few seconds, as what he said was true, some of his questions were answered. He took another few to get his questions figured out.

"I can see where you're coming from. Know that while a few inquiries have popped up because of Orochimaru's research, your loyalty has not come into question. I want to figure out what you know and what is new information. This genetic discrepancy he mentions, is it a bloodline?"

Rasu and Yomi gave each other a look, it was clear that they had no idea what this discrepancy was.

"We're not sure. This is the first we've heard of this. I mean, it could be? But the snake described it as an anomaly, something different and new. That's why he was so fascinated by it, because it was something that he had never seen before. That doesn't sound like a bloodline to me. Seeing as how a bloodline should improve on something like elemental usage or some physical attribute. From what Orochimaru's notes say, this anomaly is holding our true strength back." Rasu answered.

Hiruzen nodded. "I thought as much. So then what about this unknown nature manipulation? What do you know of that?"

Looks of obliviousness went between the two Okami while Ishaku continued to sit in his seat. Yomi was the one who answered this time.

"This one is less of a mystery to us, as we kind of did suspect something was off about our chakra some time ago. Though we didn't know what exactly. An unknown nature manipulation? I don't even think our most dedicated researchers would have figured that one out anytime soon. The fact that it seems tied to our techniques does kind of make sense though. Seeing as how only those of Okami blood are able to use our techniques to their full effect."

"Even though those of my family are able to use the Okami's techniques, even we aren't able to master them." Ishaku finally said. "As long as we've served them, none have been able to grow as powerful as the Okami. This is more than likely the reason for this. It seems that without this trait, using these techniques would be difficult."

"So we've confirmed that what Orochimaru uncovered is new information that you three had no prior knowledge of?"

Nods from the two Okami and the Pon.

"We will hopefully be able to find out more. My grandson sent word that he was following a lead on a potential Okami outpost. We hope that it contains some information."

This was news to Hiruzen. He was under the impression that the young Pon was currently under orders to be passive with his intelligence gathering. Effectively he was on standby until he received orders to do otherwise.

"So am I to assume that he is doing this separate from his current mission?" he asked sternly.

All three took on anxious and embarrassed looks. Clearly caught doing something that was likely frowned upon.

"Well, you see Hokage-sama, my grandson knows that he should be vigilant for the village. But some of the intelligence that he receives is more beneficial to the clan than it is for the village. So far the only things he has heard about have been rumors and gossip for the most part. He only recently came across knowledge of this outpost. Since he is on standby, he figured that he would take a look while he wasn't needed."

Hiruzen let out a sigh. "I understand. Know that I don't mind he's doing this. But I will remind him that he is to focus on the missions he's handed. He may chase leads when he is not currently otherwise occupied with village matters. Understand?"

"Of course Hokage-sama." Rasu said with a slight bow. "Thank you. My otouto tends to act on his own a lot, as seen when he volunteered for this mission without telling anyone here. We didn't ask him to do this, but you must admit that we are doing what we can to regain what we can of our clans history."

"Answer me this. What exactly is it that he's looking for?"

"You've seen it before Hokage-sama." Rasu said as she pulled out a disc shaped object and set it on her desk. Hiruzen recognized it as the item that she used to show the council Shiranui's final battle.

"Ah, I wondered what that item was. Finally going to tell me what it is?"

"It's called an Origin Mirror. They were used by our clan to store our memories. This one is the only one that the clan had in its possession since the clan dissolved. It's why we know anything about our past at all. Shiranui had it on her when she died. Yomi's father gave it to him when he passed away."

"I spent years trying to figure out how it worked. Learn the secrets that it held. Turns out that in order to unlock it, a royal Okami was needed." The old Okami stated.

"It revealed a lot about our techniques as well some information about our family. As you know though, it didn't tell us everything. We still don't know about our history or the full extent of our abilities. We hope to find more of these mirrors as they could hold the key to learning what happened to our clan."

Hiruzen picked up the mirror and inspected it. Other than the stylized sun decorating its surface, there was nothing all that intriguing about it. No marking denoting seals. No noticeable chakra signature. It boggled his mind on how the unassuming object even worked.

"Fascinating. So your clan used these to store your collective knowledge?"

"That's our theory. We'll need to find more before we can make a final conclusion."

"There's a good chance that one of Rasu-sama's status may be needed to access where they are hidden. Seeing as she is needed here, we may not know until Ammako-chan is of age to leave the village."

"I see." Hiruzen said as he placed the mirror back on the desk. "So I guess this _key_ Orochimaru mentioned is also unknown to you?"

Rasu only shrugged, "At this point, it seems like the traitor knows more about our abilities than we do. I'm certain that if these notes hadn't been saved, we wouldn't have known about any of these findings for some time."

"So what do you intend to do with this knowledge?"

"I can't be sure. Right now the only thing we can do is hone what we already know and have our researchers work on finding out more about what Orochimaru discovered. Until we find more about our past, there's really very little we can do."

Rasu stood and gave Hiruzen a bow. "I thank you again Hokage-sama, for bringing us closure on our lost family and letting us know about these findings. If there is ever anything you require of the Okami, all you have to do is ask."

Hiruzen gave a nod in acknowledgement. "If that'll be all, I really need to get back to the tower. Paperwork and all."

"Of course Hokage-sama."

* * *

 **.xIVx.**

 **April 27, 58 CE 4 AK**

 _Unknown Location_

The streets had long been abandoned as nighttime rolled over the small village. Those who had homes to go to had long since shut and locked their doors. One didn't venture out into the night if they knew what was good for them. There were those who didn't have such a luxury and did everything they could to hide.

One of these unfortunates was a six year old girl. There wasn't much to this child, short red hair, dark brown eyes, and fair colored skin. Aside from the ragged clothes she was wearing, there was only one other thing that stood out about the girl. The flute she carried. Even though it was an older flute and a more than a little dirty, she held it as though it was more important than life itself.

She found that the best way not to be found inside the village was to not be there at night. She had made her camp on the far outskirts of the vile town, far from the degenerates that walked the streets at night. Though it was safer, the girl knew that she still had to remain quiet. Sound carries at night. Sound attracts those who prey on the weak.

She lay there, in her little hovel, still as a rock, as she tried not hear those who weren't as lucky to go unnoticed. She clung to her flute until dawn broke the sky.

After a quick trip to a nearby stream to clean up, the girl made with daily routine. She first visited the kind old man who often would give her left over food from the day before. Next she would go see if there was anything she could salvage from behind a clothing store. Finally she made her way to the center of town, where all the people would be.

She was far from the only one to show there. There was the man who juggled all manner of things. There was the woman with the hauntingly beautiful voice. There was the man with the puppets. The twins who told fortunes. All these people made it hard to find a spot that would get traffic. After wandering a bit, the girl found the perfect spot by a fountain. Setting her cup down, she pulled out her flute and began to play.

She knew she wasn't that good at it. She was still learning when she lost her parents. More than anything she relied on the pity people often had for her. The young girl forced to play music to feed herself. Though, she was lucky if pity was all she got on a given day. This day was not that day.

She quickly recognized the men who would sometimes make their way through the town center. The three men would often saunter though and make small talk with the people who entertained there. She was too young to fully understand the words they used. Things like protection and performance fees. All she knew is that they expected payment. Payment she unfortunately did not have.

"Oh, look at here guys. The flute girl is back." Their apparent leader said, the arrogance thick in his voice. "Still as hard on the ears as always huh? Anybody tip the poor little trash today?"

She tried to shrink herself, she knew it wouldn't work, but the instinct was hard to ignore.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Listen to me when I'm saying something you little bitch!"

The girl felt the man grab her hair and pull. She tried not to scream out, but it hurt so much.

"Listening now aren't yuh? Good. Now, you have something for me? You know you can't play here without paying the fee right? Now what have you got?" he said as he put her back down.

"I… I don't have anything. Nobody has put anything in my cup yet."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Aren't I guys? I am so so sorry to hear that. I guess that means that you won't be able to perform here today."

"Bu.. but I need to play today."

"What you need doesn't matter to me bitch. What I need is payment. You don't have that, so you best get out of here before I'm forced to do something to you really won't enjoy."

It was at that moment that they all heard a jingling sound of coins hitting metal. Turning around, they all saw a man wearing a bright pink kimono and purple sashinuki-hakama. On his head was an odd headdress reminiscent of a hawk, a long cloak attached to it. Locks of blonde hair could be seen underneath. Looking at his face, they saw that his eyes appeared closed, little more than lines. He wore tabi socks with geta that only had a single tooth. Despite the rather precarious balance footwear like that would suggest, the man held himself well. On his belt a sword could be seen with a golden flute in his hands.

"Ah, what wonderful music I heard coming from this direction. It's always nice to see someone so young follow the path of music, don't you think?" the man said with dramatic flair as he threw a few more ryō into the girl's tip cup.

"It warms my heart." He said as he himself began to play his own flute.

"Hey! Weird guy! The hell you doing?" one of the flunkies asked.

The man stopped his playing, confusion on his face. "I'm playing my flute. Is it not obvious?"

The three men stepped closer to the strange man, if it wasn't for the fountain they would have surrounded him.

"Well, I was just wondering, seeing as you're so generous with your ryō, that you wouldn't mind sharing a bit more. You know, since you're such a nice guy and all." The leader said smugly as he held his hand out.

The man looked down at the outstretched hand, then back up at the thugs face. "Now why would I do that? You've done nothing to warrant payment."

The thug leader let out a long drawn out sigh and turned to his cronies.

"You know, I try to be a nice guy and give people the chance to do the smart thing. It's not that hard. You want to perform here, you have to pay. Hell, we even do the nice thing of not coming by every day. Then there's people like you who think you don't have to pay." He turned back to the strange man and gave him a hard look. "People like you need to learn that the rules apply to everybody."

He lashed out with his fist, aiming for the man's face. Imagine his surprise when the man was no longer where he had been. In a flash he was now standing between the three thugs, his thin eyes opening slightly revealing a hint of blue.

"You know, it's people like you why the arts are in such a state of decline. It should be enough that art is enjoyed without the artist getting harassed by the likes of you." He said, a dark aura pouring off him like thick mist.

The girl then watched as the man proceeded to strike the leader in the back with his palm, sending him into the fountain. He followed up by striking the next thug in the face with his elbow. He fluidly used his next motion to sweep the legs out from under the third thug sending him to the ground hard.

Blink and you would have missed it. The man had taken the three out in a matter of a couple of seconds. The thug leader pulled himself out of the fountain to see his cronies on the ground. One with a bloodied face, the other trying to get his breath back from the hard fall. As dense as this man was, he knew when he was against a stronger opponent.

"Let's go you two, we're done here." He said angrily.

The man watched as the three dragged themselves back to whatever hole they crawled out of.

"That's it? No show of bravado? No threats of retaliation?"

"They don't go after people who are stronger than they are." A small voice said behind him.

Turning around, the man saw the young girl picking up her possessions.

"I see that, but don't thugs usually have some kind of reputation to uphold? Shouldn't they at least try to get back at me?" the man asked.

The girl shook her head.

"That's not how it works here. The strong prey on the weak." She said as if that explained everything.

The man contemplated her words for a few seconds. He must've been missing something because he soon gave up on trying to figure it out.

"Oh well, at least I didn't have to wear myself out." He looked down at the girl as she gathered up the last of her belongings. "Where are you off to?" he asked.

The girl hefted her things over her back and started walking away. "I have to find a new spot."

"But this spot is so nice! There's the fountain and those trees. The acoustics there are actually quite good. You won't find a better spot that wasn't built for it."

The girl turned back to stare at the man. Clearly he didn't know how things worked in this village. She didn't recognize him, so that meant he was a traveler and wouldn't be in town long. As it was, she didn't feel like giving him lessons on how things went.

"You should leave."

"Ah, now why would I do that when I just found what I was looking for?"

"Oh? And what is that?"

"I found a young girl who plays the flute."

This sent off warning bells for the girl. Even though she didn't know all the details, she knew that men looking for young girls only meant bad news. She broke into a cold sweat, trying not to show any signs that she saw the man as a threat.

"And just why would you be looking for someone like that?"

"I saw you in a dream."

' _Alright, I'm so done with this creep.'_ She thought as she started to head somewhere with more people.

The man himself seemed to realize what he had just said.

"Ah, that came off creepier than I had intended."

"You think? Anyway, I'm not talking to some pedo perv I don't know who dresses like a clown and talks about seeing young girls in dreams."

"Ah, where are my manners. I haven't even introduced myself yet. Forgive my rudeness young lady. You can call me Waka." He said, giving a quick bow. "It seems that my first impression has been somewhat spoiled."

He then looked at her expectantly. It took her a few seconds to realize that he wanted her to introduce herself as well.

"Um… I… My name's Tayuya."

"Nice to meet you Tayuya. I want to assure you that I am not some _pedo perv_ as you so eloquently put it. I am however, looking for people that can help me accomplish some goals. Goals that will change the world. I believe that you are one of those people."

Tayuya once again gave Waka a blank stare.

"And why would that be?"

"Like I said, I saw it in a dream. I know how crazy that sounds, but hear me out. I know that you have had a tough life. Anyone who looks can see it. You have suffered much for one so young. You know better than to accept something so outlandish. I could easily be some slave trader, only out to see a profit. I could be some sleazy old man who sates his urges with young girls. I could be any number of terrible things." Waka paused and gave a far off look.

"There are many terrible things in this world Tayuya. Things that I wish to keep from happening. I know that I can't stop everything. But one thing I know I can help with right now is helping a little girl not go home to a box in the woods. I can give that girl a roof over her head. I can take that girl out of this village. I can give that girl purpose."

He knelt down and met her eyes with his. "With your help, I can change the world." He stepped away from her.

"Of course, I'm not going to force this on you. What I ask won't be an easy road. If you say no, I will go. If you say you want to think about it, I will give you as much time as you need. Even if it takes years. This is your choice Tayuya. Let no one take that from you."

Tayuya was shocked. The offer this man was giving her had to be too good to be true. No one shows up and hands out things like this without expecting something in return. Well, he did expect something. He wanted her help to change the world. And in return she would have a roof over her head, she supposed that also meant food and clothing. From the sound of it he didn't live nearby, so getting away from this squalid village was a given. If that was the only thing he offered, she would have taken it and most likely would've ran away the first chance she got.

But the rest of his offer. Purpose. A reason for living. She may be young, but even she knew that meant something. She looked down at her ragged clothing. She looked at her dirtied flute, one of the only things she had to remember her parents by. She placed her hand on her growling stomach. All in all, it didn't take much for her to come to a final decision.

"Will you teach me to play?"

"Pardon?"

"The flute. Will you teach me?"

Waka smiled. "Of course. But first, how about we get you some clothes and food first."

* * *

 **.xVx.**

 **October 20, 58 CE 5 AK**

A bell rung as the door to the shop opened.

"Ohaiyo! Welcome to the Orange Shop!" an old man happily greeted his first customer. Then he saw who it was.

"Oh, it's just you." He said.

"Oh come now Ojii-chan, is that anyway to greet customers?" a sing-song voice asked.

"Only when it's a young'un who doesn't know to let go." He said as Rasu walked up to the counter.

"I'm not the one who one day decided to up and leave the compound to open a store. Seriously, you could have stayed there and still have a store you know."

"We've been over this Rasu-chan, it was our time to go. You have a whole clan to run."

"Which I can run with you guys there."

They bickered like this for several minutes, an argument that neither have yet to win. Mr. Orange and his wife had decided a few months ago that it was high time they stopped living off the Okami's. So they left the compound, got a house, and opened up a shop. A decision that Rasu didn't appear to agree with.

"All I'm saying is that you guys didn't have to leave. I'm more than happy to have you two living there."

"I know that. But that's yours. You have your own life to live now girl. You have people depending on you. The Mrs. and I Just thought it time to get back something to call ours."

Mrs. Orange herself was in the next room listening to the two. Despite how it sounded, the two weren't angry at each other. Mrs. Orange knew that Rasu had difficulties letting those she considered family not being close by. But she needed to understand that they had their own lives to live just as she had hers. They couldn't be by her side forever.

"Oh hush you two, can't you see that you missed a customer coming in."

That got Mr. Orange's attention. He quickly looked around to find said customer, only to not see anyone.

"Are you daft woman? There's no one here."

"Excuse me." A small voice said.

Looking over the counter top, Mr. Orange found a young boy with blond hair and the brightest blue eyes. He also had these odd whiskers marks on both of his cheeks.

"Oh, hello. Welcome to the Orange Shop. Anything I can help you with?"

The boy seemed a little surprised at the greeting, but he got over it quick.

"Do you have any ramen?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, it's down aisle three, near the back."

"Thank you." Said the boy as he made his way towards the ramen.

"Cute kid. Now where was I?"

"I think we should continue this conversation another time Ojii-chan. It wouldn't do to run your new customers off with our arguing." Rasu calmly said.

"Hmph." He huffed as Rasu started to look around the shop.

Not a minute later the boy returned to the counter carrying a large amount of ramen.

"I would like to buy these please."

"What the blazes would a tiny kid like you need with all that ramen? Do you have any idea how much sodium that is?"

"What's sodium?"

"Not important. Now, why are you buying so much?"

"Because it's cheap."

"Well if you're going to buy that, you should at least get some veggies and meats to balance that out. If you don't, your growth will be stunted."

"But veggies are gross and they cost more!"

"Do you want to be short your whole life?"

"What do you care old man? I just want to buy ramen!"

"And I'm telling you, that amount of ramen can't be healthy! You need to balance it with other things. Tell you what, I'll even give you a discount on vegetables and meats."

The boy looked at the old man suspiciously.

"Are they rotten?"

"What kind of shop owner would I be if I sold you rotten vegetables?"

"That's what the others do."

Now it was Mr. Oranges turn to be surprised. Who would sell rotten produce to a kid? Better yet, why sell it all? Mr. Orange's grandfatherly instincts began kicking in.

"You get in trouble a lot don't you?"

"How'd you know?"

"Call it a hunch. Look kid, I'm just trying to look out for your health. I'm not going to sell you spoiled produce. Since you don't want to spend that much on it, I can work out a discount for them. You'll still have to pay full price for the meat, but you don't need as much of that." He said looking at the boy. He was a little startled to see that the boy had broken into tears and trying not to sob.

"Whoa, hey! What's with the waterworks?"

The boy struggled a bit, trying to find his words and calm his sobs a little. "It… it's just that… no one has been this nice to me in the shops. They always yell at me and sell me bad food. That's why I buy ramen, it doesn't spoil." He managed to get out before the tears began again.

"Yeah, well, I run my shop better than they do apparently. Now quit with the bawling kid. You're getting my merchandise all wet."

The boy managed to calm down as he wiped away his tears. "My name isn't kid. I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Well, I'm not old man. You can call me Mr. Orange."

Naruto stared at the man for a bit. "I like orange." He muttered. "But what kind of name is that? What does mister mean?"

"It's a western thing. Don't look too much into it. Are you going to get the meat and veggies or not?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "I guess. But it better not be rotten!"

"I already told you! I don't sell rotten produce!"

"Then I'll take it!"

"Why are you yelling!?"

"Why are you!?"

"AAHH!"

"AAHH!"

After that, the two just stared at each other.

"You're alright old man." Naruto said.

"You're not bad yourself kid."

"See you around."

"Yeah yeah, just bring money."

With that, Naruto left the store. Mr. Orange watched as he did.

"Still have a way with children I see Ojii-chan." Rasu said as she came up with a basket full of produce, an amused look on her face.

"Life's never dull when children are around. I hope he's doing all right."

"Why do you say that?"

"… Call it a hunch."

Rasu giggled. "I'm sure that he'll do a lot better now that you're watching him. Have a nice Ojii-chan."

"You watch after yourself and that child of yours Rasu-chan." He said giving her a quick hug.

"I expect you and Obaa-chan at dinner this coming Friday."

"Yeah yeah, we'll be there."

Mr. Orange sat back in his chair as his wife walked up and put her arms around him.

"It looks like you had fun there." She said.

"Hmm…" he grunted, his mind elsewhere. His wife gave him a scrutinizing stare, recognizing the look on his face.

"Honey, what did we say about picking up more strays?"

"Hnn…"

"That's right, we actually think about it before we take in more."

"… … I thought about it." He said as he looked into her eyes.

Mrs. Orange met his stare and knew he already made up his mind. She let out a sigh.

"I guess there's no helping it then. Just remember that he's a member of this village. He won't be able to leave if we do."

"What makes you think we're going to leave? We aren't as young as we once were my little cherry cake. That and we have this shop now like we always wanted."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know dear. But like you said, we're not as young anymore. We might not have the energy to look after another one."

"I saw how he reacted to a simple greeting dear. He looked as though it were the first time someone had given him the courtesy. We've seen that kind of behavior before. You know where it leads."

"We've seen both sides of that coin, we can't jump to conclusions."

"I'd rather jump on this now rather than see the boy fall to his circumstances. He'll need guidance."

"Guidance I'm sure that no one but you can give." She sighed. "Oh alright. You weren't able to give up on the others, I don't see why you would give up on this one."

"Thank you pumpkin." He gave her a quick peck. "I knew I married you for a reason."

"You married me because I told you to."

"Whatever you say dear."

She slugged him on the arm at his remark, but she still gave him a smile.

"By the way, there's a shipment that needs to be unpacked."

Mr. Orange groaned.

* * *

 **.xVIx.**

 **July 5, 59 CE 5 AK**

"I'm sure you are all curious as to why I called you here today."

Hiashi, Himiko, and Rasu all found themselves sitting in the Hokage's office with the silencing seals in place.

"As Rasu-san already knows, there was an intruder found in the Okami compound two nights ago. The intruder was found by Anbu Hebi and Ondori. What wasn't told to her at the time is that he wasn't after anything of theirs as far as the evidence suggests." He placed a storage scroll onto his desk. "The contents of this scroll have been classified a SSS village secret. Any unauthorized mention of this to anybody who doesn't already know will be put to death. Is that understood?"

All three guests nodded their heads.

Hiruzen nodded his head in acknowledgement as he unsealed the scroll. The object in question was a collection of bamboo tubes, nine in total. Each tube was covered in seals, capped with a different colored fabric and connected by a series of strings. There didn't appear to be anything all that interesting about it, other than the Hokage's attitude towards it.

"These were found by the two Anbu who chased after the intruder. They were unable to capture him, but in his haste to get away, he dropped these."

Hiashi was the first to say something. "Hokage-sama, what is so important about these tubes that warrants them a SSS secret?"

"That's why I called you here Hiashi. Take a look at them with your byakugan. Tell me what you see."

Hiashi, still a little dubious, did as ordered and looked at the tubes with his doujutsu. He had to keep himself from falling out of his chair as he saw that the tubes were loaded with malicious chakra.

"What is that?!"

"That's what our sensors said when they got near it. As for what it is, we can only make an educated guess. Does it feel familiar to you at all?"

Hiashi thought for a second, trying to recall the last time he felt as he did when he looked at those rods. He didn't like what he remembered.

"That night the Kyuubi attacked the village." He said.

"Exactly. I am forced to believe that the chakra inside those tubes is the left over power the Fox left during its rampage. The intruder managed to collect the chakra in these tubes, for what purpose we don't know. What I do know is that those things are powerful and dangerous. There's no telling what someone could do with the Fox's power."

"Then why tell us Hokage-sama?" Rasu asked. "Wouldn't it be better to keep this information to as few people as possible?"

"While that would be best normally and I am trying to do that as we speak. I called you three here for differing reason. Hiashi to confirm what I suspected. Rasu, I called you here because this was discovered by your clan members and in your compound. Not only that, but due to the circumstances I feel that a certain truth has been withheld from you long enough. Himiko, I require a favor from you."

"I will do my best to deliver Hokage-sama. What do you need?"

"After we get Okami-san caught up on everything. Rasu, as you know, five years ago the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked our village. You and your clan arrived three days later. Tell me, what do you know of the creature?"

"The Nine-tailed Fox is one of the nine Bijuu, creatures of pure chakra. It is said that the Fox is the most powerful of them as it has the most tails. Its attack on the village led to its eventual death at the hands of the Yondaime Hokage."

"You're mostly right. The Yondaime did fight the beast, but the truth is that he wasn't able to kill it. He was forced to seal it into a newborn child. He used a forbidden seal that took his life in order to do so. His sacrifice is why the village isn't a crater in the ground. His sacrifice wasn't the only one that night though. The child does much for this village by keeping the tailed beast sealed in their body." The old Hokage paused.

"What I just told you is a village secret on par with these tubes. Telling anyone who doesn't already know will make your life forfeit. As far as the world is concerned, the Fox died that night with the Yondaime."

Rasu had to take a few minutes to let this news sink in. She was far from being able to pass judgement on anyone, but to seal something that powerful into a child. It was horrendous, why would anyone subject a child to that? A newborn no less.

"Do you understand Rasu-san?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." She swallowed the words she wanted to say.

"Good. This should have been told when you got here, but I felt that you had more than enough to handle at the time. Most everyone in the village knows anyway, everyone but those who were too young to understand. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone in your clan though, if they have questions, send them to me."

"Of course Hokage-sama."

"Now, Himiko. The reason I asked you here as well. The favor I need from you, would you be willing to speak with your family and see if they are willing to place this in one of their vaults?"

"I don't really know. I haven't spoken with them since I married Hiashi. I could send a letter and request a vault, but a response won't be quick. They are very busy after all."

"I can understand that, but I would like the request to be sent anyway."

"Hokage-sama, I must ask. If this item is as powerful as you say, why send it away? Wouldn't it be better for the village if it remained here?" Hiashi asked.

"That's what I thought at first. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that by keeping it here puts a target on us. The person who gathered the chakra isn't going to just let us keep it. He gathered it for a reason and obviously went to great lengths to get in the village to do so. It could be a bomb or some other kind of weapon. If it is, we don't know what this is meant for or how to use it. Best to place it someplace safe until we figure out what to do with it. Himiko's family is known for security, so I figured that would be the best place for the time being as they won't ask questions."

Hiruzen resealed the tubes away.

"I know that I'm being overcautious, but there are things going on that I can't share with you yet. These things being in the village will complicate matters. I'll feel better knowing that they're safe outside our walls."

"I understand Hokage-sama."

"Do we know anything else about the intruder?" Rasu asked.

"Other than a general description, nothing. The Anbu who followed him described him with white hair and dark skin. Possible scar on his face. It was too dark to really see anything else."

Hiruzen settled into his chair.

"I know that by telling you this, I have placed an unwanted burden on you three. As it stands, those in this room, the two Anbu, and two others are aware of this item. The Anbu and sensors are unaware of its true nature. Leaving only us. I trust all of you with this knowledge and I hope that I never have to question that trust. This never leaves this room."

All agreed.

"Dismissed."

* * *

 **.xVIIx.**

 **April 3, 60 CE 6 AK**

 _-BREET BREET BREET BREET BRE-click-_

Bleary eyes began to open now that the alarm had been silenced.

' _Stupid alarm. Ruining my sleep. I was having such a nice dream too. There were cherry cakes as far as the eye could see. Ojii-san just got done teaching me an amazing move. Kaa-san was seeing me off to scho…'_

"The academy starts today!"

Leaping out of bed, the girl quickly began to gather up whatever clothes she could out of her closet. She held up different outfits and looking at herself on her closet mirror.

' _This is too casual. This one looks like something a civilian put on. This one is too formal.'_ She thought as she continued to try and find the perfect outfit.

"Guh! I need something a ninja would wear!"

"Ammako-chan! You're going to miss breakfast if you don't hurry and get ready!" Her mother's voice said through her door.

"I can't just wear any old outfit Kaa-san! I need to look like a ninja!"

Her door opened revealing Rasu as she walked into the room. She glanced down at the small mountain of clothes that had previously been in the closet. Then she looked at her daughter, still in front of the mirror looking dejected.

"No one will think I'm a serious ninja if I show up to the first day of academy in regular clothes!"

"Maybe you should've listened to me last night when I asked if you had everything ready for today instead of reading that book again." She said picking up said olive colored book off of the floor. _"The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi"_ was the title of the book, a gift from Jiraiya to the Okami clan head. Ammako had found it in her mother's office and immediately took a liking to it. According to the little girl, this is what a ninja is supposed to be.

Ammako grumbled something about falling asleep before she could finish the chapter. Rasu only giggled as she picked out a pair of black shorts along with a mostly red shirt with white trimming.

"Here, wear these today. I put your new sandals by the front door."

"AH! Thank you!" Ammako said loudly as she quickly changed.

"Remember to comb and tie up your hair."

"I know!"

"Good. Meet me down in the dining room for breakfast. Ojii-chan will walk you to the academy when you're ready."

Ammako stuck her head out. "Why aren't you taking me?"

"Kaa-san is busy this morning. I would love to see you off on your first day of school, but I have an appointment that I can't miss."

"Oh. Ok."

"See you at breakfast."

Several minutes later, a blur of white and black crashed its way into the Okami dining room. Ammako sat herself at the table where her food was already waiting.

"Itadakimasu." She said before digging in.

Rasu watched as her daughter ate recklessly enough to almost be considered an Akimichi.

"Remember to breathe in between bites Ammako-chan. It wouldn't do to have some of your meal end up in your lungs now would it?"

Ammako continued eating as though her mother hadn't said anything. Her mind focused on her first day of school.

"Ammako! It's time to go!" Yomi's voice shouted from the entrance.

"Coming! Bye Kaa-san! See you after school!" Ammako said as she bolted from the table.

"Bye sweetie, have a fun first day!" Rasu shouted to the blur that was her daughter.

' _They grow up so fast.'_ She thought. _'Time to go meet up with Tsume!'_

* * *

"What do you think they'll teach me first Ojii-san? Think they'll teach me how to break a board with my bare hands first? Or maybe how to shoot fire like Moe oji-san?"

"They'll probably teach you the history of the village first Ammako-chan." Yomi said.

"But that's boring!"

"You're still too young to get into the truly physical aspects of being a shinobi. You have to build on the basics first."

"But I want to do cool stuff!"

"The cool stuff will come, but first you need t… Oh look, we're here."

"Awesome! Later Ojii-san!" Ammako said as she took off to the academy doors.

Yomi would've given a proper farewell, if only Ammako had remained within earshot. He happily watched as the young girl ran into the building.

"Guess my job is done here. I wonder what Onigiri is up to today." He said to himself as he began walking off.

* * *

In the classroom, Ammako found was beside herself in trying to find the perfect spot to sit. The only one who knew what criteria qualified for the perfect seating arrangement was Ammako. After a few minutes she seemed to have decided on a spot in the back and happily sat down. She was the first to get into the room, so she sat as she waited for her fellow classmates to arrive.

The first was a boy she recognized as Uchiha Sasuke. She didn't know the boy well, as he spent most of his time in his clan compound. He took a seat next to the window.

After him were some civilian children she didn't know. They sat in a cluster near the front.

More civilian kids followed and they began to take up most of the seats.

Finally someone she recognized entered the room. Nara Shikamaru followed by Akimichi Chouji entered the room. She happily waved to them as they entered. Shikamaru gave her a tired look and muttered something she didn't catch as he sat down. Chouji waved back as he sat next to the Nara.

Next was a familiar face and a not so familiar face. Yamanaka Ino came into the room with a girl who had pink hair. They appeared to be chatting about something she couldn't quite hear, but she waved at Ino anyway. Ino saw her and gave a little wave before going right back to talking to the pink haired girl. They took the seats in front of Sasuke.

She almost missed the next person to come in. The boy was wearing a high collared coat that hid the bottom of his face, but Ammako knew who he was. Aburame Shino sometimes accompanied his father when the older man would come visit her mother. The boy was often quiet, but seemed to enjoy the young Okami's company. He gave her a small wave before he sat down in the seats to Ammako's right.

Ammako watched the door wondering who else would come in. She was less than thrilled to see that it was Inuzuka Kiba. She knew that his mother and her mother were good friends, but she had a hard time liking the boy. He was always so pushy and confrontational. When they played games together, he always had to be the winner and got upset when he lost. She didn't wave at him, he didn't wave at her. He sat down in the far back corner.

Next was a boy she didn't know. His pale skin and black hair didn't immediately spark any interest either. He looked so plain. He sat in the center of the room.

The next person who entered really drew her attention though, as he was carrying a bokken. At least, she thought it was a bokken. It didn't look like any kind of wooden sword she had seen before. The boy himself didn't warrant as much attention as his weapon did. He was also kind of plain looking. He sat next Shino.

"G-Good morning Ammako-san."

While she had been watching the bokken boy take his seat, Ammako had missed the person she had been waiting for walk up next to her.

"Hinata-chan!" She said as she pulled out the seat next to her. "I was starting to worry that you weren't in the same class as me."

"Oto-san wanted to speak with me before I left for the academy this morning." The Hyūga heiress said as she took the offered seat. "H-he wanted to make sure that I upheld our clans honor."

"Your dad seems kind of stiff. He needs to sit down and read a book sometime."

"H-he's very busy with clan business. He can't afford t-to waste time."

"He needs a hobby. You know I have never once seen him smile? It's like his face is stuck that way." Ammako said as she attempted to recreate the stern face of one Hyūga Hiashi. "At least your mom is fun."

Hinata was about to answer, but their instructor had just walked in.

"Alright class. Welc -" was all he managed to get out before everyone heard a loud screaming coming from the hall. The instructor was about to open the doors and see what it was. Before he could though, they burst open as an orange blur flung itself into the room.

"I'm not late! I got here before the bell!" he said as the school bell began to ring.

Ammako looked at the boy who had just barreled over their teacher. He had spiky blond hair. Deep blue eyes. He had whiskers marks on both his cheeks. His consisted of an orange shirt with the village mark on the front, black shorts, and blue sandals.

Ammako heard a small eep come from her side. She looked over at her friend. If Ammako didn't know who this boy was, Hinata certainly did.

"Hinata, you know that boy?" she asked.

"H-he's the one I told you about. The one w-who helped me with those bullies."

Ammako looked back down at the boy, who had just realized that he knocked over the teacher.

"Oh man! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there sensei!" he was saying as the teacher pulled himself up off the floor.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Be happy I don't kick you out of class for this. Find a seat and be quiet."

Naruto quickly took the only available seat next to Sasuke.

"Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. Welcome to your first day of Shinobi Academy. Your journey into becoming a shinobi of Konoha begins today."

* * *

 **And scene!**

So wraps up what I'm calling the prologue arc. As you can see, we're finally at the academy with all of our favorite characters.

I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but I have a really good reason! I didn't feel like writing. Ok, so there's more to it than that, but that's probably the primary reason. For the first month I was dealing with finals, then I took a break. The final reason is that this chapter is pretty important as it sets up a lot for future chapters, more so than the previous ones. I mean, if you couldn't tell by the large amounts of foreshadowing, then I don't know what to tell you. So it was just a matter of sorting through what I should reveal, what I wanted to reveal, and what I should hold onto. Trust me when I say that I am putting large amounts of thought into every little thing I put down in this story.

With that, Waka finally makes his debut without playing the pronoun game! Hurrah! And what's this? He picked up a straggler. Ok, we'll see what that means later on.

Naruto finally got some screen time and not just mentioned in passing. I hope that I did him justice. As for why it took me so long to actually show him, well, he was a toddler for most of that. Toddlers aren't usually interesting. They speak in horribly mangled sentences and drool a lot. At least now he can verbally spar with the best of them or scream at them while grocery shopping. And it looks like a certain couple has taken an interest in him. Not in that way pervs. Time will tell what happens there.

Not going to talk about everything in this chapter, so lets get to the usual stuff.

First our reviewers.

To **Dragon Man 180:** Yes, A is a douche, but I'm not here to bash. There will be no bashing in my story. If he's acting like a tool, there's a good reason for it. A reason I will tell later. And was my story really that transparent? I was hoping it would take a bit longer for someone to catch onto that. Guess I'll have to try harder then. As for the rest of your comment, we'll wait and see.

 **Bladetri** , I know that you're not really into leaving long thought out reviews, but simply putting "like XD" does not help me tell a better story here. I appreciate the review, but come on man. I'm trying to get better for you, but I can't do it alone man. Much like Johnny Five, I need input.

To **zeldawolffang:** Oh you have no idea where this is going yet, but I promise that it'll be a ride the whole way.

Saving the best for last, to **Berlioz Chaos Lord of Khorne:** I thank you for all the reviews. They are exactly what I need to get better at this whole fanfic writing thing I seemd to have fallen into. Definitely had to take a look at some of the things I've done in past chapters that I shouldn't do later on. Though I do have one question; what's with the shaking of the head? What did I do? Why is there a head shaking cue? WHAT?! It's been driving me crazy, I must know! More importantly though, no, Waka is not Rasu's lover. They technically haven't met face to face and Rasu isn't even aware that Waka exists. Hope that clears things up.

With this chapter up, several things have been cemented in place in terms of plot, so hopefully things should start coming out faster. Now that things aren't so nebulous, I have a clearer idea of where the story is headed. You should all know that I have the majority of Part One down.

Again, no one seems to have commented yet on what I think of as a major clue. It's not really all that present in this chapter, but there is Waka stuff is blatant. I think I've been reading way too many Rick and Morty theory threads because it's affecting my writing. Always gotta hide something in plain sight.

Anyway, Until next time. Please Review! I need them!


	8. School Days

And I'm back! Sorry for the wait folks. I will explain everything on the bottom as usual. One small announcement before we get to the story though. **Berlioz Chaos Lord of Khorne** has graciously offered his services to be my beta reader. So everyone welcome Berlioz, he has been a tremendous help so far. With that said. enjoy the latest chapter.

* * *

 **Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 8**

 **School Days**

* * *

 **.xIx.**

"It wasn't me!" Naruto said as soon as he was seated.

Hiruzen gave a mild scrutinizing look at the young boy. "Oh? So it wasn't you who somehow managed to break into that instructor's home and dye all of his clothes hot pink? You should know that he put in his resignation this morning. That's the third one since you started at the academy four months ago Naruto."

The boy himself tried not to look smug, but there it was as bright as day on his face.

"What can I say Jii-jii? It's not my fault someone keeps targeting my teachers. Maybe if they were nicer to certain people in general they wouldn't be pranked as often."

Hiruzen blinked. "Oh? And just who should they be nicer to I might ask?"

Naruto's smug look fell upon hearing the question. "Uhh…" he failed to answer.

"That's what I thought." Hiruzen let out a deep sigh. "Naruto, I know that many treat you unfairly, but that doesn't give you the right to break into peoples' homes and vandalize their belongings."

He got up and walked over to the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I don't have an endless supply of people that want to willingly teach at the academy. You driving them off is putting me in a difficult position. You want to be a ninja for the village correct?"

"Well, yeah. How else am I supposed to get people to acknowledge me?" he said sullenly.

"That would be hard to do if I have to cancel your class because I failed to find an instructor for it."

Worry appeared on Naruto's face for the first time since he got there. "You wouldn't do that, would you Jii-jii?"

"I don't want to, but if I can't find a replacement by the end of the break I may have no other choice." The old Hokage circled around his desk and sat back down. "I don't blame you for wanting people to not look at you with disdain in their eyes, Naruto. But the way you're going about getting attention won't help you."

Naruto slouched in his chair, a turmoil of emotion on his face. On the one hand, he did seem to show regret for his actions. On the other, the frustration of knowing that he set himself back from his goals.

"I know you're trying. That's all anyone can ask of you. Don't let their closed-mindedness hold you back Naruto. You're meant for great things one day, I know it." Hiruzen said as he started packing tobacco into his pipe. "Who knows, maybe one day you'll be in this chair."

Naruto shot his head up at that statement and Hiruzen watched as a fire in the boy's eyes ignited.

"That's it! I'll become Hokage! Then they'll have to respect me!" the boy shouted excitedly. "I've got to go train! You just watch Old Man. I'll be the greatest Hokage ever!" the boy finished as he stood and ran out the door.

"Naruto, hold on. I'm not do-…" Hiruzen had started to say, but the boy was already gone. The old man let out a small sigh of defeat.

' _So much like his mother…'_ the old man thought. He stared at nothing in particular trying to quell the feeling of guilt in his gut. _'One day Naruto. One day I'll tell you everything...'_

 **x**

Naruto burst out the front doors of the Hokage's tower, much to the chagrin of the people wanting to go in. A few uttered their displeasure about the boy's sudden appearance, but he paid them no mind, focused on his new goal. He felt that nothing could bring him down. That is until his stomach let out a mighty growl.

"Oh, I should probably eat something first..." his grin grew even larger. "…and I know just the place."

The boy took off down the street, his destination clearly set in his mind. It didn't take him long to reach his new favorite place in the village, Ramen Ichiraku. He couldn't wait to get there and stuff his face with the greatest food in the world. Picturing a steaming bowl of miso ramen in his head, Naruto picked up the pace.

It didn't take the young boy long to reach the stand. He quickly walked in and sat down at his favorite seat. According to the young boy, this particular seat was more level and spun more smoothly than the other seats, hence why it was his favorite. The old man who ran the shop argued that he maintained his seats every day before opening, not that it made any difference to the whiskered boy.

"Hey old man! Three miso bowls!" he shouted as soon as he was seated.

Teuchi, owner of the ramen stand, stuck his head out from the back and gave his best customer a smile.

"Naruto, it's been awhile. A whole eighteen hours since I last saw you here. Three bowls coming right up."

Naruto only smiled, glad that there were at least two places in the village that were actually happy to have him there. Teuchi placed his first bowl in front of him and immediately started digging in. While he was eating, he let thoughts of being Hokage run through his mind. He imagined himself wearing the hat and robes of the village leader and everyone in the village cheering his name. He saw his own face being carved into the side of the mountain overlooking the village. He started to imagine his classmates all trying to apologize for their treatment of him in school.

"Naruto, you doing okay there?" a concerned voice asked.

Naruto snapped out of his daydream and responded with a surprised "Huh?"

"You stopped eating and got this spaced out look on your face. Whatever it was, you seemed pretty happy about it, you were smiling at least." Teuchi said.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how I'm going to be Hokage." Naruto said.

"Hokage huh? Aiming pretty high there aren't yuh?" Teuchi asked as he prepared Naruto's next bowl.

"Yeah! If I become Hokage everybody will have to acknowledge me!"

"Well, who am I to tell you not to become Hokage? You're going to have to train hard to be that strong, so you better keep your strength up you hear?" Teuchi said as he finished preparing the last bowl.

"Of course!" Naruto said as he kept eating.

Naruto soon finished his meal, paid for his bowls, and took off for whatever training he could find first. The boy's mind was filled with thoughts of what he should train himself in first. Taijutsu? Ninjutsu? Maybe try his hand at genjutsu? He would decide when he got to where he was going. Naruto ran off into the distance, passing by the Orange shop shortly before a certain set of friends exited just in time to miss Naruto's passage.

Ammako and Hinata walked out of the shop, both carrying bags of baked goods. While Hinata appeared to be holding a bag of ingredients, Ammako herself had a bag full of Mrs. Orange's specialty. Ammako was already digging one baked treat out of the bag. Holding it up to her face, she took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the cherry cake.

"Ahhh, if ever there was a better treat in the world, I don't want to know what it is. This right here is all I need." Ammako said as she began to tear into a cherry cake. "Phure Heavfen."

A cough of displeasure sounded from behind the duo. Ammako turned to see the presence of an older dark haired boy dressed in the usual Hyuga branch family garb along with bandages wrapped around his forehead. He stood against the doorway with his hands folded behind his back. A little of Ammako's mood dropped, the boy being one of the last people she wanted to see today.

"Ammako-sama, it is unbecoming of a lady of your station to eat with your mouth full." the boy admonished her.

"Neji-san, must you suck all the joy out of everything?" she asked, her mouth still full of cherry cake, so it came out more like, "-Eji-shan, musht jou shuck all the joy out of evferyting?" Bits of cake fell to the ground as she spoke. If she noticed at all, it would be because cake on the ground was wasted cake. "And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Sama?"

Neji looked down at the fallen crumbs, then back up at Ammako. Letting out a sigh, he turned to look at Hinata.

"Why are you friends with her again Hinata-sama? Clearly she's not a good influence for you."

Hinata, who had been doing her best to stay out of the impending argument, let out a small squeak when Neji spoke to her. Before she could respond though, Ammako was already putting herself in between Hinata and Neji, swallowing what was left of her cake.

"Nuh uh, don't drag her into this. This is between me and you. If you have a problem, you take it up with me." Ammako said as she stared up at the taller older boy. "Why are you even here? Ko-san was supposed to meet us later when we left the market."

"Ko-san was asked by Hiashi-sama to attend to other duties while he met with the elders. I was sent in his stead." Neji stated flatly. "Rather than wait until you were finished, I thought that I would make myself available should Hinata-sama require any assistance. As for my comments against you, you can't deny that your behavior is not what is expected of an heir of a clan. I merely raised the question as your actions could have negative repercussions for Hinata-sama due to her association with you."

Hinata was curious as to what would be talked about at the meeting, especially since the Hokage would be attending. She already had her suspicions about what it would be; almost anytime all those three met at once, there was really only one thing that would be discussed. Her. She didn't understand yet why, but she had heard her name brought up more than once when those meetings happened. She let her head dip ever so slightly, not that the other two noticed.

Ammako could only stare at Neji after his explanation, a lot of the words he had said going over her head. Ammako didn't like it when people used big words she didn't understand, it made her feel left out of the conversation. She didn't particularly like the way it sounded as though Neji was speaking down to her. She also didn't like how it made her look less intelligent when she couldn't figure out what people were saying. To say that she often got into arguments with the prodigy of the Hyuga clan didn't help her friendship with the clan's heiress.

Not that his words were going to change anything. "You don't give Hinata enough credit, she knows better than to do what I do. I'm not looking to turn her into me you know. I don't think I could stand being around someone like me. Besides, did you ever think that maybe her fanciness will rub off on me? No, you didn't, Smarty-pants-san."

Neji only let out a tsk, clearly not taking Ammako's words another thought. Instead he turned to Hinata and gestured at the bag she was holding. "Hinata-sama, would you like me to carry your bag for you?" he asked.

Hinata was still thinking about the meeting that she was a little startled when Neji addressed her. She snapped out of her thoughts and quickly composed herself. "N-no thank y-you. I am fine carrying it on my own Neji-nii-san. Thank you." She responded with a slight smile.

Neji gave a quick nod of acknowledgement, "Very well, let me know if there is anything that I can assist with." He said before stepping back. He took up a position behind the two girls and began to take in their surroundings. He kept an eye on everything that was happening around them and gave nearly anyone that passed by a critical once over before moving on the next. On an older person, it may have looked intimidating, but coming from a seven year old the stares had limited effect.

Ammako gave a cold glare at Neji, a little annoyed that he dropped their argument. She would raise a fuss over being so easily ignored, but at the moment she was happy that he wasn't antagonizing her. He would remain quiet for now that he's said his piece.

"Come on Hinata, I want to get the shopping done before dinner. The sooner we get done, the sooner we can get some training done."

"Hai." the Hyuga heiress replied.

The two began walking further into the village, Neji following several paces behind them. Ammako of course mellowed out due to the boy's presence. Once again, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed as with him there she couldn't commence with the usual girl talk with Hinata. Not that Hinata really ever contributed to these talks, but she listened which was more than enough.

Meanwhile, back at the Hyuga compound, Hiashi was dealing with a headache. A couple of them, all big.

"…and that Hiashi-sama, is why I move that we remove Hinata from the position of heiress." An Elder's speech finished with.

"The fact that she has yet to awaken her Byakugan is cause for concern, but I don't think that we should be so in a hurry to take the position away from her just yet." another countered. "It has taken others of our clan even longer to awaken it, we have records."

"Those were all from the branch family! Never in our history has it ever taken this long for the heir of the family to awaken their Byakugan. All of us here had awakened our Byakugan before were reached the age of five. If we continue to have her named heiress, it'll ruin our reputation." a third Elder spoke.

Hiashi had heard all this before, this being the third time this topic has been brought up in a meeting. Unlike the other two times though, this meeting was actually centered on his daughter. Though it would still be many years before the title of heiress would begin to affect her personally, the political effects were on the horizon. Some of the Elders were impatient about the short term effects of a weak heir. By their definition, weak was Hinata's inactive Byakugan.

As it stood though, the Elders were split. Of the seven Elders, two were adamant about removing Hinata as heiress as soon as possible. Two weren't in a hurry, but were concerned about her belated activation of her doujutsu. The remaining three were waiting for further information.

Hiashi himself was struggling to maintain order and control. On the one hand he had to do what was best for the clan. On the other, he had to watch over his daughter. Himiko would make his life a living hell if he let anything bad happen to their oldest child. Well, she would make his life hell if he let anything happen to either of their daughters, regardless which one it was. Allowing the Elders to dictate Hinata and Hanabi's futures would fall under that umbrella.

With that in mind, he did his best to not cave to the Elders demands while still not appearing too sentimental. As such, he found it difficult not to shout at the two who would deny his daughter her birthright. Knowing that they were technically right didn't help. Having an heir in place who couldn't use their doujutsu would start to cause problems for the clan later down the line. Allowing the clan to appear weak, while not an immediate issue, was unacceptable.

Hiashi had to navigate this issue carefully. If he appeared too sentimental, the Elders could remove him as Clan head. Though not the worst fate for himself, the protection his position offered would be removed and his daughters could be sealed. Though there was little chance of that happening, it was a fear Hiashi and Himiko held. His marriage to Himiko was another point of contention. Namely the fact that Himiko wasn't a Hyuga, therefore thinning the clan blood. Though it was common to bring in fresh blood, it was usually the Branch family that did so with the Main family partnering with the descendants of that union later down the generational line. For a Main family member to marry outside the family was rare. Himiko's lineage was a major factor in Hiashi's father allowing the union to happen at all.

Of course with his daughter's only being half-blooded Hyuga, the possibility of the Byakugan skipping them was higher than average. It was this that the Elders were concerned about. Hiashi wouldn't admit to them that there could be another possibility for Hinata's late growth. As far as the Elders were concerned, Hinata was only kidnapped that day over three years ago. Any mention of the unknown seal and its connection to Hinata was kept a secret with only Hiashi and Himiko, the Hokage, Jiraiya, and a few others knowing of it. If it was discovered that someone had a seal that could potentially seal away their doujutsu, the Hyuga clan would have to go to war, the consequences be damned.

' _Damnit Jiraiya, how much more time do you need? Haven't you deciphered those seals yet?'_ Hiashi thought to himself.

Focusing back on the meeting, Hiashi managed to catch the Elders closing arguments.

"All I am saying is that we shouldn't jump to conclusions. She may just be a late bloomer."

"Even if that's the case, the longer we have her as heiress the more people will question why we have her there. If she can't awaken her Byakugan in the next few years, we'll have no choice but to move to have her title taken from her."

"The sooner we have her removed, the more time we have to instate a replacement. Even having the place of clan heir vacant is better than having a liability in it. Our clans' reputation is at stake here."

"Enough." Hiashi ordered.

All the arguing ceased at once. Even if things were complicated, Hiashi still commanded a lot of respect. His service record was nothing to scoff at and he has led the clan ably for the past ten years. Even if they were the Elders, they were past their prime. All they could really offer was their wisdom and experience.

"It is beneath us to have a kneejerk reaction without fully knowing the situation. We will compose ourselves as we have for generations. This is an unprecedented situation I know, but we shouldn't treat our response lightly. We are not infallible and are just as prone to making mistakes if we rush though things. We will be able to make a more informed decision once we know more. As it stands, we can only wait as more information becomes available to us. Now, I have another meeting to attend. We will continue this discussion at a later date. Dismissed."

While the majority of the Elders filed out of the room, each having their own things to accomplish, two remained.

"Hiashi-sama, please reconsider. I know she's your daughter, but you must think of the clan first. We can't have our reputation stained." the first one said, an Elder by the name of Hiroshi. "Be reasonable."

Hiashi gave him the man a cold stare, more than a little annoyed at his blatant disregard of his order. He turned his glare to the other man in the room, who from the looks of it only stayed to see what would happen.

"I thought I made myself clear. This matter will be addressed at a later date. Until then, I will not hear another word on it."

Hiroshi glared at the clan head, not pleased that his words weren't being heeded.

"You can't stonewall this decision forever Hiashi. Sooner or later you'll have to make a decision." he spat before he stomped out the door. Hiashi watched him go. It took all his control to keep from lashing out at the man. As a father and clan leader, Hiroshi had managed to piss him off on both fronts. Calming down, he turned to the remaining man.

"Do you have something to add?"

The man only stared, offering no response at first. A few seconds passed before he said, "As much as I agree with Hiroshi, he should know his place. I wanted to see how you would handle him. I will await the next discussion, but know that I will be using that time to find a suitable candidate. I'll take my leave."

The Elder left, leaving Hiashi with bitter taste in his mouth. Though he was less of a nuisance than Hiroshi, he left him feeling even more infuriated.

' _Damn that man.'_

He spent the next few minutes calming himself down. Dealing with that person always left Hiashi feeling a bit more aggravated than usual. All it took was a few words and that look in his eyes. Taking a few deep breaths, Hiashi managed to regain his composure. Not a second too soon as there was a knock on his door.

"Enter."

His office door opened and Hizashi entered, followed by a certain Sanin.

"Hiashi, Jiraiya-sama here for your meeting." the younger twin informed his brother. He started to leave, but Hiashi beckoned him back.

"Thank you Hizashi, if you don't mind I would like you to be present during this meeting." Hiashi said to his brother. Hizashi gave a shrug and walked around the desk to stand next to his brother. Jiraiya had already taken a seat in front of the clan leader. Hiashi placed his hand on the desk and channeled some chakra into the seal in its surface. Immediately the air inside the room seemed to still and all outside noise abruptly ceased.

"Silencing seal in place, you're free to speak Jiraiya-san."

The Sanin gave a quick nod then turned to pull a satchel from behind him. Placing it on the desk, he began to pull out various scrolls and books. After a small pile had formed before he pulled out a final scroll that joined the others. Hiashi could only guess as to contents that was held within.

' _Did he really gather this much information?'_

"You gathered this much in three years?" he asked.

Jiraiya looked up from a final look in the bag a confused look on his face.

"Huh? Oh, no. It's been awhile since I picked this up so it's buried at the bottom. Ah, here it is." he said pulling out yet another scroll.

Hiashi had to keep himself from slamming his face onto his desk. "If you picked it up a while ago, why didn't you inform me of it sooner?"

"Hey, I run an extensive spy network. I have other responsibilities that I need to take care of. I can't drop everything to deal with every little thing. You know the kinds of things I deal with Hiashi, your daughter doesn't take priority over those." Jiraiya lectured as he unrolled the scroll. "It took me some time before I found a translator of ancient languages that I could trust. Even when I did find one turns out that they needed someone else to assist them. I'm surprised they were able to get anything out of this when they told me what those symbols meant."

Hiashi once again got his emotions under control, everything that Jiraiya made logical sense. He really couldn't expect the village's spymaster drop everything for his family. As it stood the only worrying thing was Hinata's inability to activate her Byakugan. Nothing else was wrong with her physically.

"I apologize. I'm letting my emotions over this get the best of me." he said as Hizashi put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"No need to apologize, not for something like that. I can only imagine what it must be like. Now, I've got a few things to go over with you now that I actually have something to report. First is that what we thought of as an older use of kanji was only half right."

The Sanin gestured at the scroll in front of Hiashi, pointing out what looked like a comparison between some kanji. "That first kanji is one that we use today, the one next to it is one recorded to have been used around a nine hundred years ago, and the last one there is the kanji used in the seal from three years ago. Notice how though none of them are the same they all have a similar structure and flow. My translator friend told me that by looking at the first and third ones, he was able to discern that they may have originated from a common origin. That takes us back to the second symbol."

Hiashi was following everything that Jiraiya told him, his eyes carefully tracing the kanji's lines, taking in their meaning. Though he didn't understand their meaning, he could see the resemblance between the three. He could see where Jiraiya was going with this.

"This is a different written language. One based off our older kanji but taken in a different direction than our current language."

"Precisely. What made my translator intrigued with this is that it's not one that he's come across before and he's traveled all over the Elemental Nations cataloging all that differences in our writings. Something like this shouldn't be possible. There's too much divergence for it to have developed alongside our own writings."

"So what does this mean?"

"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine at this point. Maybe someone from beyond the Nation's borders. There are plenty of other countries out there that we haven't explored yet. Maybe someone else from here made it over there years ago and developed separately. Who knows. Speculation at this point isn't important though, what is important is that he was able to partially translate it."

This got Hiashi's attention. "Was he able to get anything about what the seal did?"

"Kind of. Too many of the kanji used were too far gone to make heads or tails of, but he was able to get a few passages and words figured out." He pointed to the next part of the scroll. "He was only able to get partial lines and words and I'll be honest, except for a few words they don't make a lot of sense to me."

Hiashi read over what was translated.

 _Lock._

 _Lotus._

 _Moon white._

 _Transfer._

 _Moonlight._

 _Hidden._

 _Seal._

Hiashi looked over these words. Though he could take a few guesses, most simply didn't make sense.

"I thought there would be more."

"There was, most of it was simple sealing jargon, not really pertinent to figuring out what was sealed. These words were located in the area where you define what's to be sealed and any conditions you would want to impose. Unfortunately, that was the area that was most burned out."

Hiashi had handed the scroll to his brother, who was giving it a once over. "Could moon white refer to our byakugan? What do these other things mean?" Hizashi questioned.

"No clue. The best I could do was extrapolate, but that doesn't do anyone any good without hard evidence. I still couldn't tell you if this has anything to do with your daughter, there was nothing in the translated notes pointing to the seal being used on anybody."

Hiashi settled back into his seat. He had been hoping for something a little more helpful. "Hinata hasn't been able to activate her by doujutsu. Could this seal be responsible?"

Jiraiya's face remained stoic for a few moments before he answered.

"Possibly. There's simply no telling without something to go off of. Your wife isn't from your clan, that's already something else that could be considered. Your other daughter is too young to make that judgement though as well. What's the age you guys usually activate it, around three right?"

"Around there, yes. There have been cases where some activated it either later or sooner in life. Though those that activate it sooner are rarer than the others. My nephew for example activated his before he was two. I sometimes wonder if things would be better had Hizashi been born first. To see that kind of talent at such a young age, he would have made a fine heir."

"Nonsense Nii-sama. Your leadership of this clan has been exemplary, I am honored to serve under you."

Hiashi was thankful for his brother's words. He really didn't know where he would be with his support.

"As it stands though, my daughter being unable to use her kekkei genkei is causing problems for the clan. If it is true that she is incapable of using it because of genetics, I fear she may be removed from her position and sealed. I don't wish for that to happen Jiraiya-san. At the same time, I must look after the clan's best interest. We can't afford to have someone who doesn't have the byakugan make the clan look weak."

Jiraiya's face dropped any sort of professionalism he currently had, a deep frown changing his features. "Kind of a shitty thing to do to your oldest child don't you think?"

"What would you have me do Jiraiya-san? I love my daughter, but if I don't do what is expected of me, I will be removed as clan head. If that happens I can't protect my daughters from clan politics. I am trying to abolish our barbaric traditions and I can't do that as anything other than as the clan head. I don't want to have to seal my daughter, but for the greater good of the clan I will do what I have to. I can only hold out until she graduates from the academy, by then she'll be expected to have either activated her birth right or be branded a failure. I can only do so much before my hands become tied."

Jiraiya continued to give a disapproving glare. "I'm not going to pretend to know how clan politics work and I'm not telling you what to do here, but you should really sort out your priorities. Now, I have done everything that I can to help figure out what happen to your daughter. As things are though, we have hit a dead end. We have the pieces but they don't make sense. There is more to this than we know, but it's clear that key components are missing. I have had some men on Hayazo's trail, that's the only lead we've got left. I'd say we should already have him, but he has evaded capture for years now. As soon as I get word on his whereabouts, I will do what I can to apprehend him. Until then, there is nothing more that I can do."

Hiashi wanted to argue, but found that he couldn't. The only other lead they had only confirmed a theory. Of the two men responsible for his daughter's kidnapping, they knew the identity of one. Hayazo of the Endless Clones. A thief known far and wide in the elemental nations for his preference of targeting ninja villages and stealing from their more fortunate citizens. Something to do with the challenge of it. It was obvious why he was part of the group, his skills were needed to get the other man in and out of the village as well as keep their forces busy while they did whatever they did with the seal. If Hayazo was hired, then that meant that he could know who and why.

A few reports on him had popped up the past three years, though by the time they had heard of them he was long gone. The fact that his targets appeared random most of the time made it all but impossible to track down. Other than knowing he was after the rich didn't tell them much. The items he stole also offered no pattern, as he sometimes took things that held little to no value.

"I see. I apologize if I seemed ungrateful for your efforts Jiraiya-san. Far from it. The situation with the clan however has left me stressed." Hiashi admitted. "Don't let me keep you. I'm sure you have other things to tend to."

Jiraiya stood, gave a curt bow and left the office. Hiashi slumped in his chair, exhausted by his day. Hizashi stepped up and once again offered a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Hiashi, we'll figure this out. We've got time."

"For how much longer? You heard those two. They want Hinata removed as soon as possible. We both know that once that happens they'll start pushing for her to be sealed and offered up as some sacrificial lamb to whatever noble they wish to build ties with. I want more for my daughter Hizashi." he said as Hizashi walked around to sit on the other side of the desk.

"I wish I could help more Otouto-sama, not much I can do from this side of the family though." he said as he pulled the chair closer to the desk.

"How many times must I tell you, you don't have to call me that when we're alone?"

"About as many times as I've told you that I will call you as tradition dictates."

"You know, for someone who is covertly trying to change traditions, you adhere to them a lot."

Hizashi only gave a mischievous grin. "It's all about appearances Hiashi. The greatest weapon a ninja has is the art of deception."

Hiashi gave his brother a flat stare. Sometimes he wondered if they were really related. If it weren't for the fact that looking at Hizashi was like looking into a mirror every time, he would seriously consider it a possibility.

"Just… just don't do anything to stand out. We're further than anyone else has gotten, but we still have a lot to do and a long way to go before things change."

Hizashi's grin didn't go away, but his eyes did lose some of their luster. "How's training with Dai's son going? Everything going well I hope."

This time Hiashi did plant his face onto his desk.

"He's a monster. He never stops. He's even worse than his father was when we were a team. I thought I knew what I was getting into. But I was wrong. I have never been more wrong in my life." he complained from his position.

"He any closer to opening all the gates yet?"

"He's up to six gates, three years of training and he's only gotten one more open than he had when I started working with him."

"Well, you can't expect him master them so soon you know. Opening them is considered forbidden for a reason after all. The fact that he's gotten as many open as he has despite his age is a testament of his tenacity and dedication."

Hiashi sighed. "I know. I started trying to figure out how to get the first gate open myself but it is more difficult than I anticipated. Even being able to see the tenketsu points doesn't help as much as I thought it would. Well, for me at least. According to Maito-san I have been invaluable to his understanding of tenketsu."

Hiashi managed to pry his face from its home on the desk. Standing, he walked over to his simple but well-made shelf. On it were various scrolls, books, and single sheets of parchment. Also were a couple of photographs, one of him with his family, another of Hizashi and him when they were younger. It was one separate from those though that his focus fell on. In it were four people. Taken after he had graduated from the academy, he saw himself, his jonin instructor, and his two teammates. While he could barely remember his other squad mate, he held numerous memories of the boisterous boy next to him. Loud, obnoxious, and more energy than anyone else alive at that point, Dai was the bane of his existence during his genin days.

"He didn't deserve what happened to him you know."

"He didn't, but he went out better than most could hope for. Protecting his child. A grander sacrifice there isn't."

Leaning back in his seat, Hiashi reflected on his brother's words. Sacrificing everything for your child. Could he go that far? He turned to look at the family photo on his shelf. Thinking about it, it didn't look like a family photo at all, Himiko was on the left side of the picture holding the newborn Hinabi. He himself was on the right, his arms folded and the signature Hyuga look on his face. Hinata was in the middle, wearing a bright smile. All of them there and other than his wife holding the baby there was no contact between any of them.

Focusing on his daughter, Hiashi couldn't help but note the un-Hyuga like smile she wore. He had received a lot of grief over that from the Elders. A lot of lectures on the clan's image and what not. And yet he kept the picture. As fine a line he's had to walk the past few years, he knew that he would put all aside if it meant protecting his daughters. Yes, he would go that far and further if protected them. A greater sacrifice he couldn't fathom.

"Indeed." he said with a small smile.

* * *

 **.xXx.**

Hiruzen was about ready to pull out what little remained of his hair. He had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to find a replacement instructor for the academy. The loss of the former instructor was a heavy blow to the school as he was one of their more veteran teachers. His resignation caused all kinds of problems. Aside from the more immediate issue of having one less instructor, the timing was less than fortunate. It being almost halfway through the school meant that they had no one on hand who was trained to teach. As it was, Hiruzen was at a loss on what to do. He couldn't pull from any of his active ninja, nor could he tap retired assets.

Why? Mostly because when asked many would rather go through another great war than teach children. They had told him as much when he spoke with them previously. The things he told Naruto earlier were just to get him to realize that his actions have consequences, not to actually have to follow through. He didn't know what he would do if he had to cancel classes due to lack of instructors.

It was the middle of this conundrum when his secretary buzzed him.

"Hokage-sama, Okami Yomi is here to see you for your weekly meeting."

' _Oh thank Kami, a distraction'_ "Send him please." the Hokage said as he pulled a bottle of sake and two cups from his desk drawer. By the time he had the cups ready, Yomi was knocking on his door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Yomi entered. The old Okami hadn't changed much over the years, his beard slightly longer and a couple more liver spots. Yomi gave Hiruzen a quick bow before taking his seat.

"How are you doing my friend, well I hope." Yomi greeted as he took up his glass. He took a small sip before concluding that the alcohol was a good vintage and finished the cup.

"I could be better. Then again, I could always be doing better." he said with a chuckle as he refilled Yomi's now empty glass. "Such is the burden I bear."

The two men sat in silence drinking their sake as they usually did when they got together for their _weekly meetings_. For Hiruzen, this was a welcome reprieve from his usual duties. Knocking back a few drinks with a person who wasn't actively trying to usurp his command or was someone who wasn't an immediate subordinate. Despite being ranked a Jonin in skill, he hadn't joined the shinobi forces due to his age. Whenever the two met, they would often regal each other with tales of their younger days, Hiruzen having the more interesting stories to tell. Not that Yomi couldn't provide his own, even if they were a bit more mundane in terms of action and drama. Hiruzen enjoyed that. He had spent his whole life as a shinobi, it was nice to hear stories that didn't involve political intrigue or murder or anything else ninja did.

On that note however, Hiruzen did take notice that there were some things that Yomi avoided speaking about. Namely anything in regards to significant others. The old Hokage could empathize with this, he didn't speak about Biwako either, even now the pain of her absence still strong. Knowing where his mind were going, he spoke to derail that train of thought.

"So how is Ammako-chan doing? I see that her grades are doing well, but how is she handling it?"

Yomi's face lit up at the question. "She is doing well. At least that is what Rasu has told me anyway. Ammako has been enthralled with the shinobi lifestyle ever since she found that book written by Jiraiya-dono. I don't imagine much will dissuade her from it."

Hiruzen almost coughed his drink before he remembered that Jiraiya wrote another book before his more famous publications. One that detailed the heroic adventures of an honorable shinobi. Thinking on it, he could understand why the girl would take to heart the ideologies of the book. It was certainly one of his best works, shame it didn't sell as well.

"That's good to hear, there were already a few students who couldn't handle it and dropped the course. I can't say that I'm not disappointed to see them go, but it's for the best in the long run. We can't have those who can't handle the training in our ranks."

"Well, even if she didn't have that book as inspiration, her pride as an Okami would've kept her in the program regardless. She takes her role as heiress seriously. More so than her mother does anyway." Yomi admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I love Rasu like she were my own daughter, but she wasn't raised to be the leader of a clan. She bears the role with honor, but I can tell she is just counting the days till she can pass off the role. She never wanted this, but she knows that the clan needs her to lead us."

The aged Okami downed another cup, this time not gesturing for a refill. "I've had to teach her much ever since she found my family in the capitol. Etiquette lessons, diplomacy lessons, mathematics, geography, all manner of things that she didn't learn while she was on the road."

Hiruzen listened and the seeds of an idea were planted. "You taught Rasu? Tell me, where did you learn all that to be able to teach her?"

Yomi gave a dismissive hand wave. "I was a professor at a university for a few years, teaching Rasu was child's play compared to teaching a whole class. Why do you ask?"

It was at this point that Yomi noticed the near-manic gleam in the Hokage's eyes.

"So you've taught before." It wasn't a question.

"Yes…" Yomi answered hesitantly. "What are you getting at Hiruzen?"

The Hokage just smiled as he gave Yomi the details to his current dilemma.

Yomi sat for a bit pondering over what Hiruzen had told him. The aged Okami was silent the entire time the Hokage told him of their instructor shortage. Now he was contemplating. After a few minutes he placed his elbows on the desktop and propped his chin on his hands.

"I understand where you're coming from Hiruzen, but do you really think that I am the best qualified for this?"

"Yomi, at this point it's not a matter of who's qualified. It's about who's available. If I had known that you were a teacher before you would've been the first person I spoke to. It's not imperative that you accept. In that event I would only have to look for other options. Thing being is that the best thing I have is a chunin who says he'll be happy to help but he's too young right now. Maybe in a few years." Hiruzen paused as he took a puff from his pipe. "I'll be honest. The only thing I am concerned with is you duties at the hospital."

"Well, I don't think that would be as large a factor as you make it out to be." Yomi started. "My skills as a healer are extremely limited. They're simpler than most other healing techniques but the results tend to be… variable. Aside from using me as a consultant they rarely need use of Rejuvenation."

Hiruzen was surprised to hear this. He saw the results of Yomi's healing and the results were superb. "Can you clarify variable? I saw you single handedly heal several of my shinobi when your clan came to the village."

Yomi sighed, "I guess age is catching up with me. My chakra flow isn't as dependable as it was back then. To use Rejuvenation as a healing method requires precise chakra control. My control simply isn't what it once was I'm afraid. Luckily all that means is that Rejuvenation simply fails as opposed to the catastrophic effects of other methods."

Looking at his glass before he placed back on the desk, "Honestly. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself. Since they can't rely on me as much, I was just going to take an administrative role. Going back to teaching wouldn't be my first choice but it would be familiar."

"Are you considering it?"

"I won't lie, it's tempting." Yomi thought for a moment. "I would have stipulations."

"Of course."

"I teach my way. I've already had thoughts on things that I would change if I had the chance after looking at Ammako's curriculum. Some of the things on it felt either superfluous or indulgent."

"Things added by the civilian council. A plan of theirs to help bolster our forces after the war. The Shinobi council wasn't thrilled about it but they relented as our numbers were dangerously low. The idea was to make it easier to allow civilian students to graduate easier. As it is, we have a number of genin teams that have yet to be promoted to chunin. Some have yet to even accept any missions over C-rank."

"I don't expect you to change all courses, but the class I'll be teaching will be taught my way."

"Some parents will raise a fuss over it."

"Let me worry about that. If they have any issues they can take it up with me. You have enough things to deal with as Hokage."

' _You say that, but as soon as you tell them no to something they're going to be banging at my office door.'_ Hiruzen gave a slight grimace, but he managed to suppress it before Yomi noticed. "I see some issues that may arise, but I'm sure that they can be handled."

"Glad we can agree. Next I may need to call in assistance when it comes to taijutsu. I know a few things, but I'm by no means an expert on it. I think you know who I'm talking about."

Hiruzen did know and if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't too thrilled. "He's going to charge me an arm and a leg, you know that right?"

"I'm sure that I can talk him down on pricing. So long as he makes something he'll be happy."

Hiruzen let out a minor aggravated sigh. "Alright. I'm not one hundred percent onboard with it but fine. Not like I have a lot of options right now. Is that all?"

Yomi nodded.

"Then I have some things I want to impose. Since the class you'll be teaching will have Ammako-chan in it, you will not be allowed to show favoritism. Understood?"

"Crystal. Pretty sure she'd raise a ruckus if I gave her something she didn't earn."

"Second. Any changes to the curriculum will be ran by me first. I'm not going to question too much what is changed, but I at least need to know what is being taught."

"Of course."

Hiruzen gave a curt nod. "Excellent. I think that wraps up everything. Other than getting the proper paperwork set up, I think we have everything in order. Welcome to the academy Sensei."

* * *

 **.xXx.**

She huddled into the corner as much as she could. She had little choice. If she moved even a little bit they would hear her. They'd already killed everyone else in the orphanage. She could still see their faces as they were cut down as she watched from the top of the stairs. Now she hid.

She didn't know why these men were here. She didn't know why they killed all her friends and the lady that watched over them. She could hear them rummaging through everything downstairs and tearing through the offices. It was only a matter of time before they came upstairs and found her.

She didn't deserve this. She helped the other kids. She did everything she could to help out around the orphanage. Why did bandits have to come now? Did life really have no meaning beyond existing at the whims of those stronger?

The girl was distracted from her thoughts when she heard one of the men start to come up the stairs. Didn't even try to silence his steps. The man stomped his way into the hall connecting to the room she was hiding in. She quickly scurried under the nearby bed. She heard the man outside the door. He fiddled with the handle to find it locked. She tensed as the bandit started to bang against the door. This was it. Her life was going to end before she could even live it. Then the screams started.

The sounds at the door immediately stopped as she heard the bandit run back to the stairs. The sounds of battle carried all the way up to the girl's hiding spot. The screams of the men that had brought ruin to her life elicited little response from the girl.

' _Good.'_ was he only thought. Even if whatever was slaughtering the men downstairs came for her, she didn't care anymore, so long as they went before she did. The screams stopped and the girl heard steps coming up the stairs once again. The knob on the door was shook again. A moment passed before a blade cut through the door and chopped it to bits. The girl saw a pair of blood stained sandals walk into the room. Whoever it was walked around the room before coming to a stop at the foot of the bed she was hiding under.

"You can come out child, I took care of the bandits." a man's voice said.

The girl crawled out from under the bed and faced the man.

"Well now, aren't you the cutest little thing. I'm sure that we're going to get along very well." the man crooned.

"Wh… who are you?" the girl asked.

The man looked a little annoyed at her question, as if she should've known as soon as she saw him.

"Hmm, seems your education is a little lacking if you don't know who I am little girl. Listen well, because I won't be telling you again. I am Orochimaru and from this day on, you serve me."

* * *

 **.xXx.**

The school break came and went faster than any school child would have wanted. So it was that many made their way to the academy on this August morning. The classroom began to fill with students slowly but surely. Despite there being no official seating arrangement, most students sat in the places they were most comfortable with. The students of course started to chat amongst themselves once they were with their friends.

"Did you hear? Sensei quit at the end of last semester." one student told their friend.

"Yeah, I heard that he was tired of dealing with the knucklehead. Wouldn't surprise me if that was true."

"I saw Sensei after the break started and his clothes were pink. Looks like the idiot actually pulled it off."

"No way. He probably just told the idea to someone who could actually pull it off and had them do it."

"The guy isn't very persuasive. I don't see him sweet talking anyone into doing something like that. You've seen how most people act towards him. Ain't nobody doing that kind of favor for him."

Rumors flew around the room like wildfire. A certain blonde was of course cataloguing it all for later use. Ino carefully listened to every outlandish thing said. It didn't matter that some were baseless speculation and others were outright physically impossible, a rumor was a rumor. She had a duty as the Queen of Gossip to keep track of it all.

"Why are you listening to this rubbish anyway Ino? It's all about that idiot." a pink haired girl asked the Yamanaka heiress.

"Sakura, you still have so much to learn about the art of gossip. It doesn't matter who the gossip is about. It's about the fact that people are talking about it. It's all information. Information can be used to great effect if properly utilized." Ino said matter-of-factly. "Never dismiss the power of rumors. They can be just as devastating as a knife in the back."

Nearby a certain Nara overheard the two girls conversation and couldn't help but be slightly impressed by the blonde girls statement. He knew good and well that her views on the subject were over simplified but still held merit.

' _Troublesome. It's scary how she can know how useful information can be and yet still be naïve about its application.'_ he thought to himself.

Next to him sat his best friend Choji, who was happily eating a bag of chips and for the most part was ignoring the gossiping. Mostly.

"You think Naruto actually managed to pull off that prank?" he asked.

"Does it really matter? We'll find out soon enough when he runs in at the last second." Shikamaru stated bluntly. Saying his piece he tried to get a quick nap in before class started. Who was he kidding. He would sleep for as long as he could get away with it. For all he knew there wouldn't even be a class today. It was entirely possible that the Hokage had been unable to find a replacement in time. Here was hoping.

The door to the class opened and the Hokage walked in and was followed by an older man. The Nara's hopes of an elongated nap were dashed. Clearly this man was their replacement Sensei. A brief once over told Shikamaru a lot about the old man. He was obviously an Okami, his hair and style of dress a dead giveaway. A second glance told him that he knew this man If he wasn't mistaken, this man worked at the hospital and often met with his father regarding medicine.

"Good morning class. I'm sure by now that most of you have heard that your former Sensei resigned. This is Okami Yomi, he will be filling in the position as your instructor." It seemed that Hiruzen was going to say more. He was however interrupted by a loud outburst from the back of the room.

"AHH! Ojii-san is our new Sensei?" Ammako loudly questioned.

"Yes Ammako-chan, I am your new Sensei and you will address me as such during school hours." Yomi told the young girl.

"Yes Oj- er, Sensei." she hastily corrected herself.

Hiruzen notice a hand raise. He turned to see that it was the Uchiha boy who had the question.

"Yes Sasuke?"

The boy stood to be better heard. "Hokage-sama, isn't it a little unfair that the instructor for this class has a relative present?" the boy asked.

"I understand your concern Sasuke, but trust me when I say that the issue has already been talked about and measures have been put in place to avoid favoritism."

The boy bowed quickly and sat back down, placated for now but still held a dubious look on his face.

Looking over the class, Hiruzen noticed that a certain blond wasn't present. _'Running late again. What I am going to do with that boy?'_

"Well, I really must be going. Many other things to attend to today. I trust you have everything well in hand Yomi-san." the Hokage said before leaving the room.

All students looked at their new instructor. Ammako was doing her best to suppress her desire to know why her surrogate grandfather choose to become her class's teacher. While Yomi was setting up for his first lesson at his desk, the students were once again chatting amongst themselves this time talking about their new teacher.

"I give him a month."

"I dunno. Look at him. He's ancient. Just one of Uzumaki's pranks would be enough to send him running."

"He's related to Ammako-san. He could be tougher than he looks."

"Tsk. I bet Sasuke could take him."

"Oh shut up. I don't care how much of a genius he is, Sasuke can't beat someone who has experience."

Ammako sat there, doing her best to ignore all the comments about her Ojii-san. They didn't know anything about him. She couldn't wait for him to show them all what he was capable of. Though if she were being truthful she didn't know what he was all that capable of either. She heard the stories and seen the trophies of his accomplishments, but she had ever seen him in action. It mattered little though. She knew that Ojii-san was going to impress all of her classmates.

Yomi finished his preparations as the bell rang. He stood and walked to the front of his desk.

"Good morning students. As the Hokage said, I am Okami Yomi. I will be your instructor from here on out. Now that you know who I am, I would like to get to know all of you. Here's what we're going to do. First you'll tell me your name and then a little about yourself. What you say is up to you. It could be as meaningful as what you want to be in the future to what your favorite snack is. I'm not going to pry but I find that knowing something personal helps foster good relations. Since I already introduced myself, I'll share something about myself." Yomi paused as he thought about what to share. "I am the father of six. Four sons and two daughters. I have many grandchildren. I'd give a number but I honestly don't remember how many I have any more seeing as how I have more family than those through blood. I am a blessed man to have so many loved ones."

He looked around the classroom before focusing on a student in the front row nearest the door.

"Would you like to go first?"

The student stood, it was clear he didn't want to go first but decided to get it out of the way.

"Hi. My name is Kuni. I like to train with my bokken." was all he said before he sat back down.

"Alright, thank you Kuni. Next?"

A pale boy stood next. Nearly everyone cringed a little when he did. Hardly anyone wanted anything to do with this kid. Most found him creepy. He was always smiling. Always. "Greetings, My name is Sai. A pleasure to meet you Okami-san. I take great pleasure in painting."

"Ah yes, painting is a fine hobby. You'll have to show me some of your work later."

So the introductions went. Some of the students found the exercise tedious as they already knew everyone in the room. Others were indifferent. Some were interested, though for differing reasons.

Ino was lapping the new information up. Some of the things the students revealed were new while others told something that they couldn't stop bragging about. Ammako didn't pay attention to most, but she did listen up when she heard certain names.

"I'm Aburame Shino. I hope to one day cultivate a strong hive."

"My name is Akimichi Choji and I like chips."

"Haruno Sakura sensei, umm… I… I like being friends with Ino."

"H-Hyuga Hinata." the heiress said with a polite bow. "I-I like pressing f-flowers."

"My name is Kiba and this is Akamaru! We're going to be the best!" the boy said enthusiastically as he gestured at the pup on his head.

"Woof!"

"Okami Ammako! I'm going to be the best kunoichi this village has ever known!"

"Nara Shikamaru. I like naps."

"… Uchiha Sasuke. I like to train."

"I'm Yamanaka Ino and my aim is to marry into a certain family." she said with a quick glance toward a certain brooding boy.

"Well I think you all for your marvelous introductions. I look forward to the next few years teaching you. I have to ask though, aren't there more students here? I see an empty seat."

Before anyone could answer, the classroom door burst open and an orange blur rushed in.

"I'M SORRY! I forgot to set my alarm!" said the blur as it came to a stop. Once he stopped moving, Yomi got his first look at the boy. He was garbed in blue shorts and an orange shirt. He of course noticed the boy's most unique feature, his whisker marks. The boy then noticed that the man staring at him wasn't one he recognized. "Who the heck are you?"

"Straight forward, I like it. I'm Okami Yomi, your new instructor. We were just about to end introductions. Would you care to share with us your name and anything you would like to share about yourself."

"Oh uh… ok." he paused for a second to catch his breath. Whatever hesitance he had vanished as stood confidently. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be Hokage!" he announced loudly.

The class was silent for a moment before nearly every one of the students burst out laughing.

"Yeah right. You? Hokage?" Kiba mocked. "Like a loser like you could ever be Hokage."

"Oh yeah? Come say that to my face dog-breath!" Naruto challenged the Inuzuka boy.

"Now now, there's no reason for this. Kiba, don't be so dismissive of Naruto's goals. Your goal is similar. Naruto, name calling solves nothing."

"But…"

"Tut, leave it alone for now. Take a seat please."

Naruto walked to his seat only to find that a certain pinkette and blonde had taken his seat.

"What's the big deal? Get out of my seat!"

"If you wanted to sit here you should've gotten to school on time knucklehead." Ino told her fellow blond.

"Yeah Naruto." Sakura backed her friend up.

Naruto had little choice but to find another seat. Looking around he saw only one available seat. Right next to the creepy kid. Sighing, Naruto resigned himself to sitting next to the smiling weirdo.

"Good morning." Sai greeted Naruto as he sat down.

"Yeeaah… morning." Naruto said apprehensively.

"Now that we've gotten that taken care of, I hope that we all make our time here memorable and informative. I am looking forward to our time here together."

* * *

And scene!

As I said at the start. Berlioz has offered his services as a beta reader. I am hugely thankful for his services as he has helped me come up with some new ideas and to help me reinforce some others.

Now, on to reviews!

 **bladetri \- **... Whatever, you add to my review count. At least you're a fan. -pats head-

 **Dragon Man 180 ** \- Heck yeah! The academy! Going to be honest though, I hate writing dialogue for children. Didn't think I would, but hey look. I learned something new about myself. Luckily we're not spending too much time in this time period. HA! Yes, the Fox Rods. I have plans for those, so look forward to that. -reads next part of review-

... no comment. -whistles nonchalantly- In regards to the cherry cakes... -shrug- not really something I considered really.

 **Guest 907** \- ... I'll come back to this. Going to need as much room as I can get for this one.

 **grimreaper40045** \- I thought so. Damn idea wouldn't leave me alone.

 **deathstalker982** \- So complete honesty here, I didn't really understand most of what you said here. The only thing I got from it is that you seem to think that I'm doing something with Rick and Morty being part of this story. To correct that. No, no I'm not. That was more in reference to writing style rather than content. To clarify, Waka is Waka. Naruto is Naruto. To time travel or alternate universe shenanigans here. Seriously. And yeah, I know full well I'm not fooling anybody with Waka. That stuff is supposed to be blatant. More on that later.

 **Crescent (aka Kuroi Kage Mugetsu)** \- Yep, thems the Fox Rods alright. As I told Dragon Man up there, there are plans. Lots and lots of plans. Those there are no simple MacGuffins. Those things are going to serve an important purpose. It was with this chapter that people started to comment on Himiko. About friggin time. I've been hinting at her forever now! Good to know I got Naruto right.

Now, back to our friend **Guest 907**. First, thank you for your in-depth reviews, much appreciated. Now lets tackle your review. Now, from what I know of both universes, there are actually a few who could be considered prophets. I may or may not have some of them show up later. But for now we're focusing on old Waka there. HAHA! Nice to know that my devious plot line is still leading people astray! Waka has done something with that seal. What that is you'll just have to wait to find out what. Personally I feel all the clues are there, they just need to be put into context, but then again I am the one writing all that. So maybe I'm just thinking everyone else can see what I see. I'm delusional that way. To clarify though, nothing was copied. Nothing I've come across suggests a copying ability like that.

Yes, those two are training together. As you can all see, Hiashi is getting a lot of spotlight right now and some new development. I do plan to taper off on this, but his growth is needed for later. Some of that growth requires him to train with Gai. As for how much this will affect the rest of the family, we'll have to see. You should have already seen some of it in this chapter.

Kitsune? What Kitsune? I don't know what you're talking about. -whistles nonchalantly... poorly- Trust me when I say that none of that stuff is arbitrary. All of it is there to serve some purpose or other. Some is story related, others could be distractions. You never know! For the things that matter, plans are already being unveiled as we progress with the story.

I'm quite proud of the Origin Mirrors. I actually introduced them back in chapter two. If you haven't read it since I first uploaded it, well, I actually had to go back and change a couple things. Originally I had Rasu using Divine Retribution to show the final battle between Shiranui and Orochi. I had the idea like a day later to use the Origin Mirrors instead and went back and changed it accordingly. But they are going to serve the purpose of showing the Okami the secrets of their past. Now they just have to find them. I wonder if there are any close friends of the family who could be out there looking for them. hmmm... As for the mist, that's a secret.

Going to be honest, the idea I'm working on is that Waka needs help if he's to keep the world from falling to chaos. Who better than people with unique skills. Tayuya offered a tantalizing reason for this. I totally had a plan when I had Waka save her, totally. -nervous laughter- Anyway, her being saved has left an open position in the Sound Four. Who oh who could I get to fill that space I wonder. It is a mystery.

Fox Rods, I have plans. Not saying any more on the subject. Well, a little more. I am stoked for those and I can't wait to get to when they make their reappearance to the story. Trust me, you guys will love it. And yes! Himiko! I have been waiting months for people to start talking about her! Granted you guys haven't said much more than you finally realized who she is, but that's something. Her identity will play an important role later.

Kuni and Sai. The two kids who stood out from the others in the prior chapter. So in regards to Kuni. As I said before, because of the shared inspiration from Japanese mythology and lore, a lot of names are shared between Naruto and Okami, leading me to use different names in some regards. Susanoo for the purposes of this story will be using the name of his adopted son from Okamiden. As for teams, you'll have to wait like everyone else.

Anyway. More than anything, I just like to hear back from the readers about what they think of the story. It's always nice to see what you guys think of it. Frankly I think that I learn more simply from having to look up how to properly use certain grammar rules when I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I'm actually a little disappointed from the lack of flames and negative feedback. I came into the fanfic writer community fully expecting people to leave scathing reviews just tearing my story apart and the most negative review I've gotten was a confused guy who didn't know what I was talking about in the authors note. And I know full well that Okami is a little niche. Such a beautiful game that most have forgotten about because of poor advertising. On that note, if anyone has a PS4, XBox One, or even a steam account, know that Okami HD is being re-re-released on those systems on December 12 this year. I know what my Christmas gift to myself is going to be :D.

Reason for the tardiness of this chapter is that child dialogue is hard for me to write. A friend that I bounce ideas of off told me that the way I wrote Tayuya sounded way older than a seven year old should sound. I agree, but have you guys seen the way the Japanese write kids? It scary how old they make them sound. Though in my experience, if you don't talk down to kids they will surprise you with what words they pick up that aren't swear words. That and kids that grow up in less than ideal surroundings often develop more mature attitudes. That's my take on it anyway.

Anyway, time to wrap this up. Not much to talk about that I have't already talked about in my responses to your reviews. So until next time. Later.


	9. School Days Part Deux

I have a perfectly good reason for being it being nearly four months since the last chapter and I will cover that at the bottom as usual. Trust me when I say that you will understand. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

 **Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 9**

 **School Days Part Deux**

* * *

 **.xXx.**

Naruto sat in his seat while giving the new instructor a scrutinizing stare. Though he didn't know the man, he had the feeling that he had seen him around the village before. Which was bothering him because this guy was different. Rather than berating him for his tardiness he had simply told him to take his seat and prepare for class. After the introductions Yomi-sensei had started his lessons. Another thing that immediately set him apart again was that he didn't single out Naruto to answer any questions. He didn't ask anyone anything yet. Considering every other replacement instructor started with a quiz of some kind to get a sense of what they had learned from their previous teacher, this was a pleasant change of pace.

Only thing that would be better is if he wasn't sitting next to… him. Naruto turned his gaze slightly to his right, just enough to see that boy in the next seat.

' _He couldn't still have that stupid grin on his face, could he? He does!'_

Sure enough, Sai was still grinning at Naruto with that creepy smile on his face. If there was anyone in class who was avoided more than he was, it would be Sai. No one knew why he was always smiling, no one wanted to know. He always spoke with a monotone and almost never opened his eyes all the way. Naruto didn't dislike the kid, but Sai didn't make it easy to actually like him. In addition to his other quirks, he also made a habit of giving less than flattering nicknames to his classmates. Obviously this didn't go too well for the pale boy. Sakura and Ino still haven't forgiven him for the first few nicknames he had given them.

Turning back to the front of class, Yomi was still lecturing on the history of Ninja. Even though the class had already heard some of what the aged Okami was telling them, he insisted on giving a more in depth telling of history rather than just a brief summary. This of course was met with differing opinions. While some students were ecstatic about more information, most groaned at having to hear even more boring history. Naturally Naruto was one of the latter.

So he sat in his seat, occasionally listening in on Yomi-sensei's lecture. He would catch a word here and there, often deeming it unimportant to his future goals. Why should the past matter to his plan to be Hokage? To pass the time until physical training began, Naruto started to doodle his face onto Hokage Rock. He didn't consider it weird that his face was larger than the other Hokage at all. There were also flames erupting from behind. Surely no one could ignore such a monument to greatness.

So engrossed in his drawing that he didn't notice that he had a critic.

"Why are there flames?"

Naruto's head shot up in surprise. Looking over he saw Sai giving his drawing a… well he wasn't sure what kind of look with his eyes squinting like that and his smile still there. Still, he wasn't making fun of his drawing or anything, he just asked a simple question.

"Because I need to show everyone that I'll be the best Hokage ever. What else would I use if not fire?" the blond stated, as if it was common knowledge. Seriously, they lived in Fire country.

Sai didn't say anything, only giving a small shrug and a final look at the drawing. He went back to whatever he was doing before he interrupted Naruto's drawing session. When Naruto turned back to his drawing he got another surprise.

"Is my lecture boring you Uzumaki-san?" Yomi-Sensei's voice asked.

Naruto turned and saw that his teacher was standing next to him, also look at his drawing. He began to sweat a little, it usually took a bit more before he got caught ignoring lessons.

"Oh, hey Sensei." he said sheepishly, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Oh, just long enough to hear your explanation for why your likeness requires flames." Yomi said as he picked up the drawing. "I have to say, it would be interesting seeing that every night. The contrast between mountain and sky shown by the light of fire."

Naruto was of course a little taken aback by his Sensei's response. He expected to be chewed out for doodling during class time. Instead his drawing was praised, maybe not a lot, but praise all the same.

"Though, I have to question the logistics of using that much gas on a daily basis. Perhaps save it for special events? Yes, I think that would do quite nicely. The day Konoha was founded would be an excellent day, though I suppose Remembrance Day could also be…."

All the students in class could only stare as their Sensei started to mumble to himself as he walked to the chalkboard and began to sketch out a more detailed version of Naruto's doodle. It was a sight to see as each face was quickly drawn out with impeccable detail. In addition to the sketch he also began adding things such plans for piping and machinery. Below that he started to list out days on which the flames could be turned on for celebration. Overall, it took about seven minutes before he stopped.

"Hmm… I think that would do it, but maintenance could be difficult if we don't also put in more…"

"Uhh… Sensei? What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

Yomi seemed to snap out of whatever reverie he was in at the pinkette's question.

"Ah, I do apologize." a small sheepish smile appearing on the old man's face. "Do forgive an old man's tendency to get lost in thought. Naruto's drawing gave me an idea and I may have latched onto it a little too strongly. Probably not the best time to indulge in my habit."

"Though, as it happens, your drawing does tie in with the next part of my lecture." Yomi turned back to the chalkboard. "Who can tell me what we're looking at here."

Kiba was the first to pipe up, "A better version of the blockhead's dumb drawing?" the Inuzuka shot.

"Kiba, what did I say about insults?"

"Uh, name calling solves nothing and I shouldn't dismiss other's dreams?"

"Good, do well to remember that in the future. I will not tolerate continued antagonism in my class. You don't have to like each other, but keep your opinions to yourselves until after class. Now back to my question."

Most students were thinking it was a trick question. It was pretty obvious what they were looking at. Maybe they had to look beyond what they saw.

"Isn't it just Hokage Rock?" one student asked.

"Yes, Hokage Rock. The monument set up to remind everyone that the Hokage, whether past or present, will always watch over the village. A symbol of this village's promise to protect all under its banner. The faces of all our Hokages there to see. So who can tell me who the Hokages are? No Ammako, put your hand down." Ammako put her half raised hand down.

Before Yomi could ask for a volunteer, Naruto had his own hand enthusiastically raised. "Naruto."

"The Hokage are the strongest ninja in the village! Everyone has to listen to them!" the boy all but shouted.

"Ok, that is true but can you tell me _who_ they are?"

Naruto paused, "Ummm… Well, there's The Fourth Hokage who saved the village from the Nine-Tails. There's the Third who is our Hokage right now and..."

"Naruto, that's not what I mean. Can you tell me what their names are or anything you might know about them?" Yomi interrupted.

Naruto let a crestfallen look creep onto his face. He hadn't really put much thought into it. He only learned of his desire to be Hokage a little while ago. Sure he knew of the current Hokage and the hero who saved the village, but he hadn't really thought much about what else they had done beyond be awesome in charge. He shook his head.

"Well, I can't expect you to know really. Trust me when I say that history can be boring when you remove the awe of stories and legends from the mix. Senju Hashirama was the First and one of the founders of Konoha. Senju Tobirama, Hashirama's brother, was the second. Sarutobi Hiruzen is the third and our current Hokage. Namikaze Minato was the Fourth Hokage and the savior of the village from nearly seven years ago. Each of them has left their mark on our village beyond the monument. Each has done something for this village that is still around today." Yomi gestured at each face as he named them and left his hand lingering on the last face.

"Uh, Sensei? Why are you pointing at Naruto's face?" a student asked.

Yomi looked towards the board and saw that he was indeed pointing at Naruto's visage rather than the Fourth Hokage's.

"Huh, wonder how I made that mistake. Naruto has whisker marks." he stated flatly. "This is what old age does to you children, make sure not to waste your youth."

Naruto of course thought it was quite flattering being confused for a Hokage. Surely this was a sign that he was meant to be the leader of the village. Naturally though, as soon as Yomi started on his lecture about the past village leaders Naruto resumed his daydreaming. For about an hour he only pictured himself wearing the robes and hat as Hokage, garnering the respect and attention his position demanded. It was only when Yomi began talking about the Fourth Hokage that he came back to reality.

"And finally, we have Namikaze Minato. Not much is known about his lineage as he was an orphan here in Konoha. Despite this though, he would go on to prove his worth to the village by not just being one of the most powerful ninja ever seen, but by being one of the most innovative. He took several older jutsu and modified or updated them to something more. The most famous being The Hiraishin no Jutsu, a jutsu originally developed by the Second Hokage. Now, I wasn't around when he was Hokage so I don't know much from personal experience. What I can tell you is that tales of his exploits were heard all across the Elemental Nations. I traveled much and everywhere I went there were stories being spread about Konoha's Yellow Flash. How he could appear out of nowhere and wipe out entire squads of ninja in one move. Then of course there is the most famous tale of the time he took out fifty nin in a matter of seconds."

At this point Naruto was glued to Yomi's words. Not just Naruto, but all the students. Yomi's voice wove the words of his tale together in such a way that most were positive that he could read a math book and still hold their attention.

"Of course this is all secondhand knowledge so you'll have to take what I say with a grain of salt." Yomi admitted as he glanced at the clock. "As much as I would like to continue this discussion, it's going to have to wait for tomorrow. It's time for your physical training courses."

Sasuke actually shot his head up at this. "I thought we weren't starting physical training until next year."

"Normally that would be the case. With my curriculum however you will be starting on the basics so you will be prepared for the actual training. We'll be starting by building your foundations before actually starting your physical development."

Naruto was having a hard time hiding his excitement. Normally he would have been jumping for joy and shouting at the top of his lungs. Since he started going to the Orange store every day though, the Oranges have be doing what they could to curb his rudeness. Well, Mrs. Orange did anyway. Mr. Orange was content to try and teach the boy good old fashioned life lessons. Mostly through the use of anecdotes and metaphors that went over Naruto's head. Naruto loved the old couple, they didn't treat him like most of the village did and were always happy to see him. Though most of Mrs. Orange's lessons fell on deaf ears, she had managed to at least teach him to not be so loud, most of the time. As it was though, he was close to bursting with excitement. They were starting training early!

He wasn't the only itching to start training. Sasuke was actually sporting a rare grin while Kiba was pumping his fists. Ammako was torn. On the one hand, they would start training, something she had been wanting to do since she started at the academy. On the other, she was really getting into the history and lore of the ninja world. A knock on the classroom door interrupted any musings anyone was having.

"Ah, that must be your instructor." Yomi said as he opened the door.

Whatever the students had been expecting, the man who walked in was not it. An old man, possibly older than Yomi hobbled into the room. He wore a white gi and black hakama. The top of his head was bald yet he still had hair on the back of his head. He had tiny eyebrows and a large flowing mustache. He was stooped over so much that he was using a shinai as a cane. This was their Sensei for physical training?

No one seemed too impressed by Onigiri. How was this stumbling old man going to teach them when he was struggling to walk. There did appear to be one who was intimidated though. Ammako, as soon as she saw Onigiri walk into the room, hid under her desk and started mumbling under her breath. Hinata looked over at her friend with concern.

Onigiri at this time had since reached the center of the front of the room. Yomi had since moved to stand next to the old instructor. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Fighting Master Onigiri-Sensei."

"Oh ho, no need to be so formal Yomi-san. I'm happy to be here today. If anything it gets me out of the compound. So, these are to be my students then? I look forward to meeting each and every one of you." He gave a slow once over of the classroom. "Hmm… It was my understanding that Ammako-chan was in this class."

At mention of her name Ammako froze where she was hiding and ceased her muttering. Yomi of course held a small amused grin, knowing full well where the girl was hiding.

"Oh well, must have taken off to the restroom. Either way, she can meet us outside." He turned to the door and began to slowly leave the room. No one moved, not even after he was out the door.

"You all might want to hurry and get outside, Onigiri doesn't like tardy students."

A quick moment of murmurs and turned heads ensued before the students began to file out of the room. Naruto was the first one out the door followed shortly by Sasuke and then Kiba. The room was shortly emptied leaving only Ammako, Hinata, and Yomi. Seeing that everyone else had left, Ammako peaked her head back over her desk.

"Is he gone?" she squeaked. Hinata gave her a confirming nod. Confident that Onigiri was no longer present, the young Okami leapt on top of her desk and pointed an accusing finger at her older clan member. "What were you thinking bringing that crazy head here?!"

Yomi didn't look the least bit ashamed, instead giving the girl a small chuckle. "I brought him here because I know that he's the best person possible for training you kids. You should know by now that I don't do things in halves. You better get going before he starts his session, you know how he gets when you're late." Yomi said as he took out some files and began reading through them.

Seeing that she wasn't going to get any further with Yomi, Ammako relented and began heading for the door, Hinata already there. Together they made their way to the training field. Even though they were behind by several minutes, they soon overtook Onigiri as he hadn't quite made his way to the rest of the students. Ammako shot him a suspicious look as she passed.

' _What are you up to old man?'_

As it was, they made it before the lesson officially started. Ammako made her way to the very back of the group, knowing full well she didn't want to be anywhere near the front today.

Of course, most didn't seem to pick up on her unenthusiastic attitude. Naruto and Kiba were arguing for who got to be in a certain spot. Sasuke was nearby and seemed content with his spot. Naturally most of the other girls in class had chosen spots around and near the Uchiha boy. Shikamaru had already chosen his spot in the back far from the troublesome mess that was the front of class. When he saw Ammako and Hinata take spots near him he felt that his choice was justified, being one of the few in class who picked up Ammako's uncharacteristic behavior. She never shied away from learning anything. So why was she being so apprehensive now? Something was up and the Nara boy wanted none of it.

Onigiri finally made his way in front of everyone. He stood before everyone, a little sway in his stance as he looked over the class once more.

"It looks like we have here a group of adorable potential ninja in class. As was said in the classroom, my name is Onigiri-Sensei and this is my class on the physical requirements to be a ninja. It is clear that many of you are excited to be learning the fighting arts with yours truly. Now, who would like to learn a new fighting move?"

As expected, Naruto was the first respond. "ME! I would like to learn a new move!"

"Like you could learn anything new idiot! I'm obviously the one he should teach a new move to!" Kiba yelled as he tried to shove Naruto out of the way. Onigiri let out a small laugh as he watched the two boys argue.

"I'm afraid that blondie here was first to respond pup." Onigiri said. He turned to Naruto. "I like the cut of your jib boy. I'd very much like to teach you something, but I'm afraid that my moves are far too dangerous to teach to one as young as you. Of course, unless you're willing to suffer for it. What say you boy? What are you willing to pay for this knowledge?"

Confusion overtook Naruto's face. Pay? Students didn't need to pay anything to go to the Academy. What was with this talk of pay? This train of thought though was quickly outweighed by his desire to learn a new hopefully ultimate move. He quickly dug around in his pockets to see what he could pay with. A few seconds of searching revealed a dust bunny, a single ryō, and bit of string.

"This is all I've got." he said as he displayed it to Onigiri.

The old man was amused by the offering and picked the ryō out of the pocket debris. He carefully scanned it before putting it back in Naruto's hand.

"That's not what I meant by payment." he said as he took a step back. The aged Sensei suddenly stood up straight as he raised his hand that held his shinai into the air and pointed it in a dynamic fashion. To most everyone's surprise, his head started spinning around and around until it stopped opposite of what originally was. His mustache became his eyebrows and vice versa. His whole stature changed, becoming more powerful and confident. He continued to perform more poses until flames erupted behind him. They vanished as swiftly as they appeared, leaving behind a different man entirely. Onigiri now stood tall, none of the aged frailty remained. A flame motif was now displayed on his gi and he held the shinai in a more respectful way.

The students were not prepared for this sudden transformation. Most were too stunned to really do anything other than gape. Naruto, being the closest, was stunned by the proximity. Ammako was pretty much the only one unaffected as she had turned away out of embarrassment before it all started. Onigiri looked down at the blond boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. This brought Naruto back to reality as his gaze rose up to Onigiri.

"To be a ninja means that you'll sacrifice much. What are you willing to sacrifice to gain power? What are you willing to let go in order to fulfill your goals. These are things you have to think about if you choose to pursue this life." Onigiri paused to again look at the whole class. "I say this to all of you. I know that you won't fully comprehend my words now, but when the time comes, you'll understand."

He shifted his focus back to Naruto. "Thankfully though, my fee is already being paid, so neither of you have to pay anything other than time right now. Something I want you all to know is that I will teach you everything you need to know about being a ninja, nothing more or less. Understand that it won't be everything that I know. Should I feel that you need a little extra instruction, I will give each of you one bit of advice. Whether it helps you improve or not is up to you."

The aged Sensei turned from the students and walked a short distance away with his back to them. "Don't expect my lessons to be easy, I will teach you to the best of my ability within the confines of my contract. With that said…" he turned around. "…let the lesson begin."

* * *

 **.xXx.**

Yomi had been going over his lesson plans for the coming months for the past two hours when his class returned. He wasn't surprised to see that most wore looks of terror and shock. Glancing at Shikamaru, Yomi saw that the Nara was shaking, most likely due to using muscles that hadn't been used ever. Shikamaru staggered back to his desk. Upon reaching it he promptly flopped into his seat and slammed his head onto his book. A quick check from Choji revealed that his friend was already unconscious.

Ino and Sakura didn't even bicker over who got to sit next to Sasuke as they collapsed into their seats. The Uchiha boy didn't even notice them as he limped to his own spot. Unlike the others, he didn't just crash into it, he sat calmly if rigidly. Though the far off look in his eyes was a good indicator that those famous eyes of the Uchiha clan had seen things they weren't meant to see.

Shino… well, he sat down and didn't move. Still as a statue. It was unnerving.

Kuni took the dignified approach and took every painful step to his desk with his head held high. While also muttering every curse word he knew out of context. He knew of them, not their usage.

Ammako and Hinata walked in exhausted but at least able to walk up right, mostly. Hinata had the same far off look as Sasuke, though she was also shivering a little. Ammako walked back to her desk, her eyes hidden in dark shadows.

' _I knew it.'_ she thought as she fell into her seat. Hinata took a more graceful approach and slid into her seat as elegantly as she could, though if one looked closely they could see the slight shake in her legs.

The only ones who didn't seem at all exhausted or traumatized were Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, and Sai. Everyone knew that Naruto was an endless well of stamina but that didn't make them feel any better. Just seeing him still up and excited was enough to make some students want to make him hurt as much as they did right now. Kiba had on as big a grin as the blond, though it looked more forced and pained. Chouji himself seemed as nonplussed as Naruto, as he simply sat down and started on a bag of chips. Sai looked normal, what was normal for him anyway. Nothing in his stance had changed and he still wore the same smile he always did.

Yomi observed his students as they went through their various methods of coping. From what he could conclude, Onigiri had used his stamina training regimen. From the looks of things, some of his students already seemed able to withstand the first phase.

' _Shame Onigiri would've noticed that tenacity. It's only going to get tougher for them from here.'_

"So class, how was your first lesson with Onigiri Sensei?"

A round of weak yet agitated moans and groans were let loose by the majority of the class while a few others were more vocal about their feelings.

"What were you thinking bringing him here Yomi Sensei?! We aren't ready for his kind of training!" Ammako yelled.

"I think he's great! Sure it was a little tough but I can only get stronger by doing tough training!" Kiba barked, a tinge of pain in his words.

Ino and Sakura both started to say something, but were overtaken by their fatigue after only a few angry mumbled words.

"What are you guys complaining about? It wasn't that hard." Naruto asked. This question only seemed to infuriate a certain heiress.

"Oh come off it! Not everyone here has the stamina you do. You think things are easy now, just wait. Onigiri is going to see that you can handle it and make you do more difficult training later." Ammako shot towards the blond.

Naruto obviously failed to recognize the threat in her words though as stars appeared in his eyes at the mention of more training. Not just any training either, training that not everyone in the class could do. Like she said, not everyone had the stamina he did so his only thoughts were of showing what he could do.

Of course, the mention of separate training caught the interest of a certain dark haired boy.

"What do you mean by more difficult training?" asked Sasuke with a slight pained look. "Is it better than what everyone else gets?"

Ammako gave Sasuke a frightened stare. "No, it's worse. Onigiri trains you in what he thinks you're ready to handle. If you can handle more than his usual routine he'll start his tougher stuff."

Sasuke grunted and turned back to the front of class with a contemplative look in his eyes. What could he do to improve his stamina and receive training that most others in class wouldn't be getting? He shot a quick glance at the still daydreaming Naruto. What was the secret to the boy's stamina? Surely if the no clan blonde could achieve that level of stamina then he from the elite clan Uchiha could reach the same level.

Yomi coughed loudly, getting the students attention. "Alright, that's enough class. I want to do a quick review of what we learned today then you'll be dismissed for the day. So, anyone want to comment on what you've learned?"

"Never trust an old man with a cane." a mumbled voice said. A quick glance from Yomi showed that Shikamaru had awoken from his mild slumber.

"Well, I suppose that's one way to look at it. Onigiri often employs deception in his teaching methods. Despite that, I would suggest that you heed his words when it comes to your training with him. He has been training others for years and knows what he's talking about. I do hope that his methods don't turn you away, once you get used to it you will shoot forward greatly in your training. Anyone else have something to add?"

Yomi looked around the room, noticing that many students were still in a state of lethargy after their first session of physical training. Those who weren't were either content to not answer or were somewhere else in their heads. Seeing that no one else was interested in continuing the conversation Yomi looked at the clock.

"Well, I guess that's it for today. See you all tomorrow." Yomi dismissed his students as he began to gather his notes.

With those words students began to stream out of the room, slowly for most of them. Naruto was already out the door, followed shortly by Kiba and Sai. The rest made their way as quickly as they could. Ammako shot a look of betrayal at Yomi when she reached the door. Yomi knew she was glaring at him and chose to ignore it, knowing full well that he was going to get an earful when he got back to the compound. Until then he was going to enjoy his first day getting back to teaching a younger generation.

"Best head home Ammako, wouldn't want to keep your mother waiting now would you?"

Ammako let her angry gaze remain for a second more before she left the room.

' _Best let Hiruzen know how today went. I'm sure he'd want to know how things went.'_ Yomi thought as he finished packing his papers and left the room.

* * *

Outside, family members had gathered outside the doors to collect their respective future ninja. Some showed concern for the current state that their children were in, others could only think that their state was a good thing.

Sasuke exited the building and began to look to see if he could still catch Naruto. A quick look around though proved futile though as the blond was long gone. He let out an annoyed grunt as he walked over to his favored waiting spot. As he waited he noted that today's lesson wasn't a total loss, as his usual fan girls were too tired to bother him. This brought a smirk to his face. As tired as he was at least he wasn't suffering as much as most of the class were. Of course, this made him think of those who seemed unaffected. Kiba he could write off, he saw through the front that the boy had put up to try and show off to the class. Kiba was hurting just as much as anyone else but was too prideful to show it. Sai he couldn't quite figure out. He didn't seem affected by their training, but at the same time didn't look as energetic as Naruto.

Naruto though, the boy didn't seem to be fazed at all to the harsh stamina training they went through. Surely he had to train hard to gain that kind of endurance. Though he still had his Uchiha pride, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what Naruto would say to him asking him to tell his training regimen. Or maybe he could ask his brother. Surely Itachi would be able to tell him how to increase his stamina. It would be less of a hit to his pride than asking the clanless boy.

"Don't think I've ever seen you so deep in thought Otouto. What are you thinking about?" a voice asked, knocking Sasuke out of his thoughts.

Looking up, Sasuke saw his older brother with an amused look.

"Nee-san!" Sasuke immediately perked up. "What do you know of stamina training?"

Uchiha Itachi looked at his younger brother. This was new. When it came to training, his brother usually asked him for new jutsu and whatever else that could give him an edge. Itachi understood that Sasuke only wanted to catch up to him, but he felt that his brother should enjoy his youth. This request though was a different matter altogether.

"Hmm, I know a thing or two. What brings this on? Not one of your usual requests."

Sasuke was quiet for a bit before he told Itachi about what happened in class. Itachi remained silent as Sasuke told him about their class's new Sensei and his new curriculum for them. Itachi felt that the class learning more than they were was a good thing. Then Sasuke mentioned Onigiri and his training for the class. Itachi had to hold back a chuckle when he heard what happened to most of the class. No wonder Sasuke was asking about stamina training.

"Hmm, yes, sounds like you had quite the day. Tell me about the students who weren't exhausted at the end."

"Well there's Kiba, but I'm pretty sure he was faking not being tired. His pride would've kept him from letting any weakness show. Though the fact that he had the energy to do so means he at least has the stamina. Chouji's an Akimichi, they need lots of energy to perform their jutsu so he's no mystery. Sai… I don't know what was with him. He never struck me as someone who would've had that kind of stamina but he looked unfazed by the whole exercise." Sasuke said before he fell silent.

That piqued Itachi's curiosity. "You mentioned another boy did you not? What's he like?"

Sasuke was once again silent for a moment before answering. "He wasn't affected at all. He did the whole thing without getting winded and still had energy to spare. I don't understand it. Why does he have so much more stamina than me? He doesn't even have a clan!"

"Well, being from a clan doesn't mean all that much when it comes to those kinds of things little brother. He could simply be blessed with high stamina. That's not something to fault yourself for. That's life."

"Who said anything about that being a fault?"

"I can hear it in your voice Sasuke. You think that because this boy is able to surpass you at something somehow reflects poorly on yourself. I can't blame you for thinking this, father and grandfather are constantly telling us that as Uchiha we must be the best of the best at everything. But that's closed minded thinking. While it's true that we Uchiha are powerful, we have our flaws just as anyone else would. I know that most of our clan ignore that, but it's true. I wouldn't concern yourself too much with worrying about the capabilities of others and focus more on your own."

"That's why I asked you about the training! I need to have more stamina. Onigiri-Sensei is associated with the Okami clan so Ammako-san knows what he does with those who are able to withstand his training. He gives them even more training tailored to their level."

"Ah, so that's why you want to know about stamina training, to get those additional lessons. Well there's really no secret there. You just need to do what you do normally, only for longer. I'm guessing Onigiri had you guys doing a lot of basic exercises?" Sasuke nodded. "So your path is clear. It seems this Onigiri-Sensei has plans to continue this training until you're ready to start on more combat oriented tutelage. Show that you're capable of growing and I'm sure that he'll see the fruits of your labors and grant training as needed."

The two continued their trip to the clan compound in silence, Sasuke deep in thought while Itachi hummed quietly to himself. It wasn't long before they made it back to the Uchiha compound. As they entered the gates an attendant approached the brothers.

"Welcome back Itachi-sama, you've received word from the Hokage, you're needed for a mission."

Itachi let out a sigh. As much as he wanted to spend some time with his brother, duty called. "It looks like I have to take off Sasuke. Think about what I said alright?" and then he was off, one didn't keep the Hokage waiting. Sasuke watched his brother leave, more than a little disappointed that his brother couldn't spend more time with him. Ever since he joined the Anbu, Itachi was busier than ever and rarely had time to hang out with his brother. A final look in the direction his brother went, Sasuke turned to the attendant.

"Oji-san wants to see me doesn't he."

The attendant nodded and said "He's in his study." Having relayed the message, the attendant went off to perform some other task, leaving Sasuke in entryway of the compound. Reluctantly, the young Uchiha made his way towards his grandfather's office. He could guess why he would want to see him today.

It wasn't long before he was in front of the door. Sasuke rose his hand to knock but was interrupted as a voice said, "I know you're there boy, just come in."

Opening the door, Sasuke walked into the room. As always, the study was neat and orderly, not a thing out of place. Spartan for a study to be sure, but everything there served a purpose. In the middle of the room sat a man in his later years, his hair mostly gray now with some streaks of brown present. The man's face held a worn appearance, wrinkles more from the strain of what he'd seen and done rather than age. In front of the man were a variety of papers, folders, and scrolls, each neatly stacked into their own piles. Even though he had passed the role of Clan Head to his son Fugaku years ago, Uchiha Yuu still very much maintained an active presence in clan affairs.

"I imagine that you know why I called you here Sasuke."

"Yes Ojii-san."

"Then my first question would be, how does this new instructor compare to the others?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, knowing his grandfather wouldn't tolerate a poor description. "He wants to have us learn more than what we were. From what I was able to figure, he is going to teach us more subjects than what is on the normal curriculum for the other classes and he does so with the Hokage's permission. He is also having us start our physical training earlier than usual as well."

Yuu scratched his chin. "Good, good. I had heard as much, but I wanted confirmation. So long as he sees fit to take the training seriously I have little objection. You may leave, I believe your father wished to speak with about something."

"Yes Ojii-san." Sasuke turned to the door.

"Oh, and Sasuke."

The boy looked back at his grandfather.

"Remember that you are an Uchiha. Not matter what lesson your new instructor gives, you are expected to not only pass, but exceed all others, understand?"

"Of course Oiji-san."

"Good, now get going."

Sasuke left.

* * *

 **.xXx.**

Mr. Orange was at his usual spot in the front of his store going over some merchandise sheets making sure everything was in order. So far his day had been relatively peaceful and calm, which told him that any minute now things were about to get loud. Sure enough a few minutes later the door to his shop burst open as a young blond waltzed in like he owned the place.

"How's it going Old Man!? Boy have I got a lot to tell you today! First we got…"

"Whoa, hold up there boy. What have we discussed about slamming open my door? What bills are you paying to be banging doors around here?"

Naruto squinted his eyes in faux concentration as he had heard Mr. Orange say this many times without really doing anything about it. So long as Naruto tried to look penitent for his actions, Mr. Orange tended to turn the other cheek. Ever since their first meeting, the two had come to an unspoken understanding. Naruto could come and go from the Orange Shop as he pleased during working hours and often received deals on any fresh produce he bought and Mr. Orange would often have someone to share his wisdom with. Even though most of what the old man said went in one ear and out the other with Naruto, every so often a lesson would stick.

Now was not one of those occasions though, as Naruto seemed to actively refuse to learn not to slam the door. Given that, he managed to look guilty enough to sate the aged shop keep. Didn't stop Mr. Orange from lightly glaring at the boy. "Bah, you're hopeless. If you're gonna stomp about, may as well give me a hand. There's a box on my side of the counter, need it moved into the back. The Mrs. is back there, so be sure to say hi and perhaps give her some help."

Naruto was of course happy to help. If there was anything that he did learn, it was that those who are younger should help the elderly, should they actually need it of course. As he so often does, Naruto was a little… over enthusiastic the first time he tried to help the Oranges with something. They tried not to speak of it, it was better that way. As it was, the boy now tried to curb his enthusiasm to a more tolerable degree, at least when helping the older couple.

The boy picked up the box and headed towards the back of the shop, leaving Mr. Orange to his business. Sure enough, Mrs. Orange was in her kitchen area baking. Naruto put the box down in the first spot he found and moved over to the older lady. Though Naruto was closer to Mr. Orange, the relationship between him and the older woman was still a friendly one. Unlike her husband, who made it a point to try and teach the boy life lessons directly, Mrs. Orange tried a more soft handed approach. Rather than tell the boy exactly what she wanted, she often tried to get the boy to work out the lesson without telling him the lesson. Considering how often the two males got into pointless arguments, she felt that someone had to be the mature one.

Hearing someone enter, Mrs. Orange turned to see her favorite blond. "Oh, hello Naruto. Just place that box down anywhere would you dearie?" Once he had she beckoned him to her side. He did so and saw that she was kneading some dough. Sniffing the air revealed the scent of cherries as she spilt a smaller piece of dough and set it aside. Naruto took the meaning and began to knead what was handed to him. For the next few moments the two merely worked in silence, kneading and shaping the dough. Every now and then they would hear a customer enter and have short conversations with Mr. Orange before leaving. Eventually though, the silence had to end as they neared the end of their cake preparation.

It was only once the cakes were placed in the oven did Mrs. Orange turn to Naruto. "Well, thank you Naruto. You saved me a bit of time there."

"It's no problem Oba, I'm always glad to help." he said with his trademark smile. Mrs. Orange adored that smile above all else and was happy to see that he was more willing to share it with her than when they first met. She returned it with a smile of her own which in turn only caused Naruto's to grow larger. Now that she had her cakes baking, the older woman began to pull out things for tea preparation. It didn't take long to get some water going as she set up a couple places for them to enjoy some tea at the table.

"Sit Naruto, tell me how your day went." she requested.

Naruto was more than happy to share what happened this day and let it all pour out. Even though he sometimes spoke a little fast she was still able to keep up. She had learned by now that Naruto's stories were prone to embellishment, though it was easy to tell where he indulged a little and where he was being honest. It was a certain spot of his retelling of his day that caught her attention.

"Hmm… Naruto, tell me about this boy… Sai? That's his name?"

Naruto paused, annoyance marring his features ever so slightly. "Ugh… where do I start with that guy? He's always wearing this stupid grin on his face and gives people weird nicknames. I would tell you the name he gave me, but I don't think I should say those words to you."

"Oh, and why's that?"

"Because the last time I said something like that you wouldn't let me go to Ichiraku's for a week!"

Mrs. Orange chuckled at that, it had taken some time, but she had managed to make it so Naruto would at least to attempt watch his words. It had taken her a while to figure out the best way to punish the boy when he went too far, but she had seen his love for ramen and learned about his other favorite spot in the village. A chat with its owner led to a cooperative effort between the two to teach Naruto that his actions and words had consequences. The boy wasn't happy about it, but he learned fairly quickly. Taking away his ramen was a sure way to get him to behave.

"Alright, you don't have to tell me, but please continue."

"Well… he doesn't really do anything other than sit there and smile. He does everything while just smiling. It's creepy. Everyone in class tries their best to avoid him."

"Do you think that gives you the right to avoid him as well?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "I don't know. I guess?"

"Remember how you told me that most of the class avoids you as well because of things their parents tell them about you? Do you think it's fair of you to treat this boy as others treat you?"

Clearly her words were having an effect on Naruto as understanding was becoming apparent in his eyes. As much as he tried to make friends, his attempts usually backfired. He more often than not blamed it on the fact that nearly every parent of his classmates would mutter animosity about him whenever he was near. Words like he was a monster and couldn't be trusted. Mostly it was the looks they gave him. As if he were less than nothing and a burden on the village. He knew this attitude rubbed off on most of his classmates. He knew that they only acted that way because of their parents. He wanted so much to prove them wrong. To prove that he wasn't what their parents thought he was. He just didn't know how.

Mrs. Orange watched s Naruto mulled over her question, glad to see that he at least was giving it serious thought. The tea was ready by now and she poured some for both her and Naruto. While he was thinking things over she enjoyed her cup. It didn't take long for him to finish up his thoughts, revelation setting into his posture.

"I've been bad, haven't I?"

The elder woman set her cup down. "No Naruto. You haven't been bad. You are acting the same as everyone else in your classroom are. I can't say that everyone treating you two boys the way they do as a good thing, but you doing the same thing, while understandable, is a tad hypocritical and no one likes a hypocrite."

"What's hippo…crital?"

"Hypocritical dear. In your case, it's being treated the way you are by others and then treating someone else the same way even though you yourself don't want to be treated the same." She took the boy's hands into her own. "There's a saying that you should treat others the way you want to be treated. You treating this boy near the same way others treat you only shows others that it's okay to treat you the same as always."

Naruto was now thoroughly saddened as her words sunk in. Did he really treat Sai the same way the others treated him? Like some pariah that needed to be avoided? But if he wanted to be friends with the others, shouldn't he act like them? Shouldn't he do the things they do to better fit in?

Mrs. Orange saw that saw that she was losing him and opted to force her words to stick. "Would that be what the Hokage would do?" she asked. That did the trick. All doubt left Naruto's eyes as the words cemented themselves into his mind.

"NO! The Hokage is supposed be a leader! Leaders aren't jerks!" he declared. The moment didn't last long though as uncertainty took hold on his face again. "But what am I supposed to do now?"

"I would suggest you try to see if you have something in common with him. From where I sit, I can already see several things that you both share. I won't tell you what those are now as you wouldn't learn anything if I did. You don't have be friends with him right now, but try to see past what is on the surface and look at what's underneath and see if he's someone you could at least be friendly towards. That's all I can ask Naruto."

Naruto looked down, shame obvious in his features. Shame that he could treat someone exactly how he didn't want to be. Maybe he could find something in common with the strange boy. Even if they didn't become friends he at least wanted to show that he wasn't as much of a jerk as most people were towards him. The shame soon left his face and was replaced by his signature determined look.

"Thanks Oba!" he said as he gave her a quick hug.

She accepted the hug with one of her own, proud that the boy had come to the conclusion that she had wanted in record time. "Anytime Naruto. Now what are your plans now?"

He looked a little confused about that. "I don't know. I'll worry about it later though. Right now I need to get over to Ichiraku's before the dinner rush." He gave her another quick hug before bolting out the doors. She heard him give her husband a quick farewell and then a door slamming followed by her husbands annoyed objections.

It wasn't long before he joined her at the small table. He took a seat and eyeballed Naruto's untouched cup of tea. Lifting the container he downed it before pouring himself a fresh cup.

"So what did he learn today?"

"Just how he should be better at making friends that need it. Nothing too difficult I think." she said as she sipped her own tea.

"Good, good. Always nice to see friendships form."

"It is, isn't it?"

Both set their cups down and looked at an old picture they hung on the wall. The picture was that of a younger couple surrounded by several children of various ages. Everyone was happy and clearly had trouble sitting still for the photo. None of the children present in the photo looked remotely alike in anyway nor did any resemble the older couple. Still, they looked like a family. Memories surfaced for both the elder Oranges as they continued to look at the picture. Mrs. Orange wiped a happy tear away while Mr. Orange smiled lightly.

"I'm glad we found another to guide. Couldn't leave it like our last..."

Mrs. Orange embraced her husband. "Shhh… We both know there was nothing we could do. It doesn't help to dwell on it dear. We've moved on. Let's focus on what we have now."

Mr. Orange said nothing but put his arms around his wife and drew her closer to him. They sat there, letting time pass as they only needed each other for now.

* * *

 **.xXx.**

The clearing lay in ruin. Trees were toppled, the ground was scarred beyond repair, fire spread through what little plant life remained. Large portions of land had been displaced, either charred to nothing or simply missing entirely. Two figures stood alone in the destruction, one in a kneeling heap exhausted, the other standing triumphantly not too far away.

The victor wore a now tattered and singed dark blue robe and an orange mask that had a single eye hole with asymmetrical black markings around it. Not much to his appearance than that apart from his long messy dark messy hair. He watched as the other figure breathed heavily on the ground. Despite the intense battle the figure still wore a robe of dark red, though it was tattered to near destruction. Through the large tears and holes in it, glimpses of armor could be seen. Ragged breathes were let out from within the shadows of the hood.

The man who called himself Madara walked towards his fallen opponent, no emotion showing through his mask. As he approached, the figure on the ground looked up to him with minor difficulty. Though their eyes were concealed they still met, well, in Madara's case eye. The two merely stared at each other for a time, neither doing anything. Madara finally decided that the silence had to be broken.

"You never answered my question. Why did you attack me?" he asked, his voice a solid monotone.

The downed figure lowered its head and let out a few more ragged breathes before answering. "You wear that mask, but I can still see that you are one of those with the cursed eyes. I know you're a Uchiha. I will not be fooled." a deep and ragged voice replied. The figure looked back up to Madara. "What are you waiting for? Finish it."

Madara didn't move. "Why does it matter that I'm an Uchiha? Did the clan wrong you?"

"Just finish me, you won. My story doesn't matter. End me. It's the only way you'll ever be safe from me." was the angry response. "For if you don't kill me, I will return and finish what we started here."

Madara looked around at the battlefield and took note of the carnage, the destruction. It had been some time since he had such a fight. Seven years in fact. This fight was different though, as it wasn't a man fighting to protect, it was a man out to destroy, to kill. He looked down at his torn and charred robes. No foe had been able to even get this far. Physically he was fine, no injury on his body at all. But it was still impressive that this foe had been able to damage his clothes without dying. This was no ordinary adversary. Talent like that was rare.

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Didn't you hear what I said? I will continue to come after you. Your clan will be consumed by my rage! I will never rest until the blight on this land known as the Uchiha are destroyed!"

Madara turned his eye back towards the figure. "Then we are in agreement about something. The Uchiha are a blight, one that needs to be removed."

The robed figure stared back at Madara. "What lies are you trying to tell me? Why would you want to destroy your kin?"

"No lies. My clan betrayed my principles. They turned their back on everything I sought to build and will get in the way of my future plans. They need to be eliminated. If you can look past my unfortunate lineage, I believe that we can come to an agreement. I will admit, what you did here today is impressive. There are not many that could do what you've done. Your technique could use a little refinement, but I see no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to complete what you've set out to do."

The figure was silent. "And why should I believe you?"

"I could have already killed you. As it is you've impressed me and that's not easily done. It so happens I am in need of people than can be of use to me. Even if you wish for my death, I can give you your long awaited vengeance if you are willing to follow my cause." he held out his hand. "I would not offer this to just anyone and if you refuse I will end you right now. Accept and you may have another shot at me after the rest of my former clan is taken care of. What do you say?"

At first the figure did nothing, said nothing. With a shaking movement, the figure reached out its hand and grasped Madara's. With a tug the masked man assisted the other to his feet. He didn't let go though.

"If you betray me…"

"I can say the same, though you merely threaten, I give a promise. Now, what do I call you?"

"I gave up my name long ago, it is unimportant." He lowered his hood, revealing a samurai helm of vibrant red. The metal face plate had been carved to look like that of a dragon's visage. His eyes were hidden in deep shadow, though Madara could've sworn that he saw a low orange glow within the dark depths. "If you must call me something, call me Crimson Helm."

* * *

 **.xXx.**

For once Naruto arrived early for class, so early that he was even there before the teacher arrived. The reason being that after his talk with Mrs. Orange the evening before he could think of little else. The end result was him being up later than he should've been thinking about how wrong he had been. This was a wrong he sought to fix as soon as he could because to do anything else was unbecoming of a future Hokage. He sat in the same seat that he had yesterday, a little groggy as he didn't get as much sleep as he was used to.

Students began to pour into class as the minutes passed by, some giving Naruto an odd look. Couldn't blame them really as he wasn't really known for arriving early. He wasn't always late but his entries when he was often remained instilled in everyone's mind. Hard to forget when one such tardy saw him swing in through the window and land head first on their Sensei's face.

It wasn't long before he saw who he was looking for. Sai entered the room same as always. His eyes squinted and that ever present grin. If he noticed Naruto sitting in the seat next to his he didn't give any indication that he did. As soon as he was seated he took out his sketchbook, flipped to a page, took out a brush, and began working on something.

Naruto, despite his earlier resolve, hesitated as soon as the boy entered the classroom. He had intended to give him one of his loud greetings to get his attention. He thought about Mrs. Orange's words, but still had trouble getting passed the fact that if he started hanging out with him he would be… as much of a… pariah… He was already an outcast in class! Why was he concerned with what they thought now? Doubt now banished from his thoughts he scooted his seat a little closer to Sai.

"Whatcha workin on?"

Sai glanced up from his drawing to look at Naruto. If he was at all curious as to why someone was now willingly speaking to him his expression didn't show it, though he didn't respond for a few seconds.

"Oh, well, just trying to finish what I had started yesterday. Would you like to see?" in that same monotone voice.

"Yeah, sure. Let's see it." Naruto was now thoroughly curious.

Sai turned his book so that Naruto could clearly see what was on the page. It took Naruto a moment, but he quickly recognized what the drawing was of. It was a better detailed version of his own drawing from the day before. It wasn't as good as the quick sketch that Sensei had put on the board it was still leagues above what Naruto had drawn. He was both impressed and touched by it, though he felt a tinge of annoyance as some part of him felt that Sai was trying to one up him. He quickly shook the thought from his head, it wouldn't get him anywhere. His goal was to try and find common ground with the strange boy.

"Whoa, that looks way better than what I did yesterday!"

"Well, I do draw every day, you shouldn't compare my work to your own Uzumaki-san." was his stoic reply.

Again, Naruto had to banish annoyed thoughts. Focus Uzumaki, focus. "Still though, that's really good. Who taught you to draw?"

"I am self-taught. Little else to do when I was at the orphanage."

This got Naruto's attention. "You were at the orphanage? When? I never saw you there?"

"Ah, I wasn't at the village orphanage. A nearby village's up until it was raided by bandits a couple years ago. After that the children were brought to Konoha as it was the closest. I think I heard stories of you while I was there. I imagine you got an apartment once you were admitted into the academy like me correct?"

"Eh, not really. Got kicked out of the orphanage a couple years before I was started here. Hokage was nice enough to get me my own place early. No wonder I never met you while I was there."

' _I didn't know he was an orphan as well. Maybe we do have more in common than I thought.'_

"So uh, you think I could get there?" the blond asked.

Sai tilted his head, a little confused by Naruto's question. "I'm sorry? Get where?"

Naruto pointed at the drawing. "You know, become Hokage. You think I can do it?"

For once Sai let that grin of his leave his face as he thought about his answer, which alone sent a small shiver down Naruto's back.

' _Is that what he looks like when he's not smiling?'_

"Well, the books I read tell me that anyone can achieve their goals if they work hard enough, though others tell me that not all dreams are reached. So I couldn't tell you exactly if you will or not for I simply don't know what the future will bring."

Naruto was a little dumbfounded at the answer. It was probably the first time he hadn't heard a negative response from a classmate regarding his dream of being Hokage. If anything it sounded like one of the things that Oji Orange would say.

"Though, if you worked hard, I don't see why you couldn't make it."

This, if anything, brought tears to Naruto's eyes. For the first time one of his peers hadn't outright shot down his dream. Naruto didn't think that he would be as affected as he was by the words, but there it was. He quickly tried to get control over his emotions before anyone in class saw, a slightly difficult task given the circumstances.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… got something in my eye."

"Oh, ok."

The two boys were quiet, Naruto contemplating and Sai drawing. It wasn't long before Naruto decided he had thought enough.

"Hey Sai."

"Hmm?"

"Want to train after school? I think since we both were able to get through Onigiri-Sensei's training yesterday, if we trained together we could show up everyone else in class. What do you say?"

Sai was silent for a bit and for once a different expression other than his usual smile. When he looked back towards Naruto, the blond noticed a slight glistening in the corner of his eyes, though he could be wrong as those gleams quickly vanished.

"Sure, I think I would like that." and gave Naruto what he thought was the strange boy's first genuine smile.

* * *

 **And Scene!**

Sooo... story time folks! I'll try to keep this short as if I told you guys everything it would be longer than this chapter. to summarize, pretty much since mid-December, my life has been a roller coaster of drama. A tale of layoffs, closing schools, new jobs, quitting that job, illness, and a hospital visit. I'm going to focus on that last bit. End of January and the start of February I was sent to the hospital because it was discovered that I had an elevated white blood cell count which means one of two things. Either an extremely nasty infection or Leukemia. Guess which one I ended up with? No need as I'm going to tell you. It wasn't the first one. To be accurate, I have what's known as Myeloproliferative neoplasms or MPN, a classification of blood disease which counts as a cancer. Luckily it's known to not be as aggressive as other forms of cancer so I'm not in any danger of dying anytime soon or at all. Mostly I just have achy joints which greatly hamper my movement. Feeling better by the day though. Only real danger I have right now is vehicle to the face syndrome as people in this state have no idea how to drive in the snow. But I'm back now and wanting to get back to writing as I'm two chapters behind where I want to be right now because 2018 hates me. Wanted something special for the one year anniversary but was in the hospital at the time, so you can all hate my cancer right along with me. If enough people are curious about the rest, I may update my profile with a more detailed story.

Anyway, lets get on to reviews!

 **jablanco** **-** Well, thank you for thinking that hot mess of a last chapter was cool. Much appreciated.

 **bladetri** **-**... -pats head-

 **Dragon Man 180** \- Would be really awkward if Human Ammy did any of that. A wolf is one thing, a young girl usually only does those things when possessed by the demon Pazuzu. And things are still developing, hopefully for the better until things need to go south. We'll see together.

 **Guest** \- I fully understand man, forgive me though if my personal life takes precedence over your reading entertainment. I really do want to post as often as I can and would post more but I am a grown adult with bills to pay and now health issues to address. Thank you for saying my idea is cool though, means a lot and yeah, I have been a little long winded. Eight chapters is way too long to get to the main characters. Unfortunately There are a lot of thing I need to go over as I don't want to overuse flashbacks. More interweaving between stories will pop up as the story progresses.

 **Doren1** \- I am more than happy to deliver more story when I am able.

 **Blazerforce** \- I appreciate the praise, but I think that there are better stories somewhere on this site. Seriously, so many errors in the last chapter alone, like when I forgot to correct a part about the Hokage being present at a meeting that he never even showed up at. So embarrassing. -facepalm- Either way, I will keep it up. Hopefully I don't screw it up.

So I have a question for you guys. Seeing as I had a lot of down time, my mind had to distract itself somehow. In that time I came up with three other story ideas. I'm curious if you guys would be interested in them.

1- First idea is a time travel Breath of the Wild story. Pure LoZ story using BotW as a the main setting with xovers from the other LoZ games. I only really have a basic outline of the beginning but if people are interested I could flesh it out some more.

2- Second is a Horizon Zero Dawn/Mass Effect crossover. I've put more thought into this one, so much so that I have like three ways that it could start.

3- Third is a little more recent as I finally got around to playing Witcher 3 and really want to do a crossover with that one. Haven't decided on what the other story would be yet though I have a few ideas.

So, anyone interested in seeing my take on these ideas? As you may know by now, if it's a crossover it'll be more than just a single character crashing into a new world. There will be massive world mergers as I find those more interesting. Let me know what you guys think. Should I try one of these or should I keep my focus on this one considering my exceedingly long post times?

Anyway, til next time. Please review!


	10. The Ramen Incident

**Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 10**

 **The Ramen Incident**

* * *

 **.xIx.**

 **Saturday**

' _Today sucks.'_ was what an annoyed Ammako thought.

The weekend had just started and it was going to waste. All because Hinata was busy for the day. Clan business is what Neji had told her the day before when she asked him after school as Hinata had been absent. As an heiress herself she understood, as a bored kid on a weekend she was fuming. Her mother was away on business, something to do with an artist in some distant village. Nothing particularly interesting.

Staring up at her ceiling from her bed she began to think maybe she should put some decoration up there. Maybe some paintings, or posters. What did girls her age find interesting nowadays? She heard Ino and Sakura talking about some popular bands with cute boys, but that did little to interest her. Who cared about some band? Didn't matter that it had cute boys in it. She honestly didn't know what those girls were thinking. Who could focus on boys when they had their Ninja careers to think of?

With that thought, she took a look around her room. The few shelves she had in it were covered with books. From books on the history of the Elemental Nations to books filled with folktales and legends and everything in between. Currently most of her collection was littered over her floor and bed as she had attempted to see if there was anything she had yet to read. There wasn't, much to her annoyance.

So no friend to hang out with, no books to read, and no mother to bother. At the moment she regretted not being in class. There was always some distraction going on there. Either schoolwork or the antics of her classmates. Naruto in particular was good for a laugh even if he did tend to get too loud for the girl's taste. The blond proved to be an interesting person, though Ammako just couldn't find herself to actually like the guy, namely because of said loudness. She preferred quiet people for the most part, probably why she was such good friends with Hinata. Well, one of many reasons she guessed.

She thought more about her friend. The Hyūga girl had been a little quieter than usual the past few days. When asked about it, the brunette had complained a little about a persistent headache that she had been having for a few days. Ammako suspected that may have been the clan business, a cover for a health concern. She knew full well that the Hyūga's wouldn't want that to get around, their pride wouldn't allow for it. Shame Hinata had to be their heiress really, she would probably be happier as any other Hyūga in the clan.

A few minutes passed as Ammako thought of nothing, it was preferable to thinking about how bored she was. That didn't last long. Looking at her clock, she saw that not even an hour had passed since she laid down. Seemed like longer. Another few moments of thought before she came to a decision. It was a nice day out, she could go for a walk around the village. She could check and see if the Oranges were at their shop. She hadn't seen them in a couple weeks, it would be nice to go by and visit.

A smile spread across her face as she remembered that there was a bookstore on the way. _'I can see if they have anything new!'_

She quickly got ready and left the compound in search of entertainment. Making her way through the village she was greeted with kindness from many of the people along the way. She never really understood that. She knew that her family was extremely helpful with the repairs to the village when they arrived, but she didn't have anything to do with that as she was just a baby. She was of course polite and courteous, as heiress she wouldn't dare do less. Not much she could do about how the villagers treated her so she had little reason to tell them off for their misplaced gratuity towards her. Her family members sure, but not her.

Her arrival at the bookstore proved to be somewhat successful as several new books had arrived, though only one had grabbed her attention. The book itself was one on basic psychology of Ninja. A little advanced for one of her age she knew, but she figured that it would prove to be a challenging read. Never knew how this knowledge would be useful in the future. She hoped that maybe she could figure out why so many so-called elite ninja had such odd personalities, as seen with some of her family members and other Nin in the village.

She put the book away for later as she then made her way towards the Orange shop. As tempting as it was to read it on the way, she learned a rather harsh lesson about reading and walking at the same time. You only need one paper cut to the nose to never want to do that again. She had to rub her nose remembering that one. So lost in that thought she almost didn't notice the cloud of dust coming her way. Her first warning was the sound of familiar yelling. _'Oh Kami no…'_

She sidestepped out of the way into a small alley seconds before a certain blond streaked passed her yelling back towards the people chasing him.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about! I didn't do it!" familiar words Naruto had shouted more than once during his life. Most of the time they proved to be false. "Go find someone else to bother!"

The leader of the small posse, now revealed to be members of the Konoha Military Police Force, was the one to answer. "As if we'd believe that. Who else would have the gall to do what we found?"

Ammako was unable to catch Naruto's response as the group had moved around a corner and out of her range of hearing. She wasn't sure what that was about and was pretty sure she wanted it to remain that way. Still looking the direction the group had gone, she failed to look where she was going as she turned a corner. A few hurried steps were all she heard before she felt something crash into her. Once again she found herself looking up this day, the difference being she saw clear sky instead of her ceiling.

Before she could begin to gather her senses and stand up, a pale face invaded her field of vision.

"You alright? You should really watch where you're going." A monotone voice said.

Ammako was prepared to argue that she was the one that was ran into before she realized that the voice was technically right. She had turned the corner without looking and was therefore the one who got in the way. Once her eyesight readjusted from her spill, she recognized the face as the smiling kid from class.

"I'll keep that in mind." she replied sarcastically. As she was about to stand a hand reached down to assist. She wasn't so proud as to turn down the help, so she grasped the hand and was heaved to her feet.

"Are you feeling well? No injuries I hope?" Sai asked her.

Ammako stared at the boy, trying to figure if he was being sincere as his facial expression and tone of voice didn't really convey shame, guilt, or even worry in what had happened. Oddly, this was probably the first time she had seen him without that creepy grin.

"I think I'll be fine. I've hurt myself worse walking into walls." she said as she dusted herself off. While doing so she noticed that her book was no longer on her person. A quick look around showed that it was nowhere on the ground. Hearing the rustling of pages, she looked up to find Sai leafing through the pages of her book. This annoyed her a little as she wanted to be the first to open up the book.

"Hey! That's mine!" she snapped as she held out her hand.

"I know. Was just curious as to why you decided to go with Yamamoto's psychology series rather than Yamauchi's. I felt that Yamauchi held a better understanding of the mindset of ninja as he was married to a lifelong kunoichi."

Ammako was a little flabbergasted. She never would've suspected that the creepy boy in class would read a book such as this one.

"You've read this book?" she asked as he handed it over, curiosity somewhat sated after his once over of the pages.

"Not this one, but I have read others from this author. Yamamoto was known to have a grudge towards ninja as he felt that they caused more problems than they solved. Yamauchi though sought to understand them on a more personal level though to better connect with his wife. Both have their merits, but Yamamoto's feels too clinical in its descriptions."

It took all of Ammako's will to not let her jaw hang open. She shook her head to try and shake off what she assumed to be a minor genjutsu. Alas, nothing changed as the pale boy was still there with what she took as a curious expression for him. The boy was still hard to read.

"You read often?"

"Often as I can, though ever since I started hanging out with Naruto things have been a little chaotic. I'm sorry, but I really must be going. Naruto may be able to keep ahead of those after him, but it would be best if I didn't lose track of them." he said as he passed by, giving her something she thought she would never see from the boy. A genuine smile. It looked good on him. "I would hate to say that I was unable to aid my friend in his hour of need."

Ammako watched as the boy headed in the direction that Naruto and his pursuers had gone. She herself stood in place for several moments, trying to figure out why her stomach suddenly felt so weird and why her face felt warmer than usual. It wasn't until her stomach felt something a little more familiar as it grumbled that she snapped out it. Thoughts of odd symptoms left her mind as she remembered her second reason for venturing out into the village. Images of hot fluffy cherry cakes began to fill her mind as she walked towards the Orange shop.

* * *

 **.xIIx.**

Hiashi paced outside the compounds infirmary, more than a little anxious about what was going on inside. As clan head and father he really should be in there as it was, however his wife felt that he should wait outside. Much as he wanted to argue all it took was one glare from Himiko to send him unhappily on his way.

Thankfully no one was around to see him pacing. This particular wing was devoted to the treatment of the Clan head and his family, so no one else was privy to what happened in its walls. Of course, there was one person who could enter the he would rather not, but thankfully he was away on clan business, so no worries there. He had sent Hizashi to run interference on anyone who had questions to his current whereabouts as the less people who knew where he was at the moment the better. He also asked Neji to watch after Hinabi for the time being. The cause for all this? His eldest daughter of course.

Hinata had been complaining of headaches as of late. At first a minor matter, but they quickly became an issue as she began to have rather violent pains only a few days after her headaches started. She mentioned that the aches started in what felt like the back of her head. He could hardly make these a priority though as he had to prepare clan documents that were needed for an agreement that would prove most useful to the clan. He regretted ignoring his daughter now and he suspected this to be the reason his wife kicked him out of the room. She could more than a little vindictive when she felt he put clan business over his family, so this was to be his punishment.

Now all he could do was wait until the physician determined what was wrong. Not knowing as soon as possible was eating away at the man, as he imagined it would any father.

' _Is this how it's always going to be?'_ Hiashi thought to himself. It certainly seemed that way. His duties as clan head were becoming more and more prominent in his daily life, leaving less time to focus on his loved ones. His wife understood, most of the time anyway, but Hinata seemed to feel that he was distancing her from him. He felt a pit open in his gut at this thought. He didn't want his daughter to feel that way. He remembered Hizashi sometimes mentioning feeling the same way growing up, their father mostly giving his attention to Hiashi as heir.

Before he could think about it further the exam room door opened and the family physician walked out. Hiashi was on him not a second later.

"What's the diagnosis?" his voice far calmer than what he was really feeling.

"Well, I could tell you. Or you could see for yourself. Your wife told me to tell you that you're allowed back into the room now."

Hiashi suppressed a look of confusion as he walked past the doctor into the room. He saw his wife leaning over the hospital bed, running her fingers through Hinata's hair and making soothing noises mothers often make. The doctor followed behind Hiashi and shut the door.

After a few moments of silence Hiashi started to get a little annoyed. "Well? Is anyone going to tell me something?" he said a little loudly.

Himiko promptly shushed him as she continued to administer her ministrations. Hiashi looked to the doctor.

"I gave Hinata some medicine to help her rest for the time being. It should help her as she finishes going through her ordeal."

"Ordeal? What ordeal? What is wrong with my daughter?" his voice angry but restrained as his patience ran thin.

"Nothing. She's merely going through what all Hyūga go through, granted a little harsher than what the rest of us have to suffer." The doctor stated. He then saw a vein pulse on Hiashi's forehead as that was not a satisfactory answer. Rather than feel threatened he just let out an exasperated sigh. "She's developing her birthright Hiashi-Sama. Your daughter is a late bloomer. As her mother is of non-Hyūga blood the odds of her gaining the clan's doujutsu later than usual were quite high. Since it took so long, when it finally began to manifest, it did so slowly meaning she suffered some pressure in her occipital lobe leading to her headaches. She's in the final stages of development. A couple days of rest and she'll be just fine with her Byakugan awakened."

Hiashi didn't know what to say. He felt the weight of years of worry lift from his shoulders with this news. "I see. Would you mind leaving the room Doctor? I wish a few moments with my family."

The doctor merely nodded as he left the room and shut the door. As soon as it was closed he moved to his wife and embraced her deeply. No words were needed as they both felt the same. Nearly four years of constant worry that something had been done to their daughter was finally gone.

"Is it over Hiashi? Is our daughter finally alright?" Himiko whispered, almost pleading.

As much worry that had dissolved, Hiashi had to remember that there were still questions unanswered in regards to their daughter. "I don't know. If her Byakugan wasn't sealed then that seal did something else and I won't rest until I find out what. As it stands, now that she has her byakugan the Elders should back off for the time being. I'll start her training next week, give her time to adjust. Things aren't going to be easy for her, not yet."

Himiko let out a small cry at his words as she tugged him into a tighter embrace, tears streaming down her face. At the moment Hiashi was sure that they were a mix of happiness and worry. Hiashi thought about the next step he should take. Naturally he would inform the Hokage, letting him know that they could eliminate one possibility on what the seal did. After, training Hinata in how to use her doujutsu. She was a few years late, so he would have to be a little harsh in his methods to get her caught up lest the Elders raise a fuss again. He hoped that one day she would understand why and forgive him.

For now, he was content to sit here with his wife and eldest daughter in silence. Let what's to come for later as right now he only wanted to hug his wife and watch his daughter sleep. For that would soon end and the real work would begin.

* * *

 **.xIIIx.**

"He went that way!"

"No, he went down that alley!"

"You're both wrong, he obviously ran though that shop there!"

"We're getting nowhere. Split up and cover a four block radius. Soon as the demon brat shows his face we'll move to his position. You have your orders, go!"

The four KMPF took off in separate directions on the rooftops. Sai watched them from his spot at a nearby café. Soon as they were gone he walked over to the alley across from him. He looked around a bit before he went over to an innocuous looking pile of rubbish. He put his back to the wall before saying, "They're gone Naruto-san. You can come out now."

The pile shook as the blond dug himself out of it. He stood as he shook off what debris was still on him and wiped some smudge off his face. "Whew, thought I'd never lose em. Those guys were more persistent than usual today."

"It could be that you went a little too far today perhaps?"

"Bull crap. I didn't do anything! Those jerks got the wrong guy!"

Sai said nothing, only giving Naruto a shrewd look.

"Don't give me that look. Why would I lie to you?"

"Because you said something similar not last week. Something to do with fish placed in the air vents at the Police station?"

"I stand by my alibi for that. There's no way they could prove that was me."

"Mmhmm, and how is now any different?"

"Bah, I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince you. I had to go through two sewers and a dumpster to get to this alley. I need to get home and get clean or Oba won't let me go to Ichiraku's."

"And your plan for escaping the notice of those officers?"

Naruto chuckled a bit, "Trade secret. I might tell you one day." he said as he started to head towards his apartment. "You coming or what? Oba and Oji have been wanting to meet you."

Sai paused for a moment, his expression as it always was, though Naruto had been around him long enough now to at least pick up a few of his tells when his mood changed. This current one was similar to when he had first asked Sai to join him for training a few weeks ago. He took it that meant he was touched to be asked to once again join in on something. He thought anyway. He still had trouble figuring out other people's emotions at times. Either way, he didn't have too long to think about it as Sai answered.

"Of course. I would love to meet these Oba and Oji-sans."

"Sweet. Let's go before those KMPF guys decide to circle back. When we get there remember to try Oba's food, it's really good. Don't do those little bites you did when I took you Ichiraku's. And be sure to call Oji old man, he loves it."

* * *

 **.xIVx.**

Yomi sat in his office in the academy wing of Hokage tower going over last week's assignments. He was glad to see the improvement of some students under his tutelage as he compared their scores against their assignments from their last instructor. Not really the way he wanted to spend his weekend, but alas, a teacher's job is never done. The last few weeks had proved less eventful than he had originally anticipated. He suspected the cause of this was largely the fact the most problematic student had found a distraction from his usual disruptive tendencies by making a new friend. He hoped that would eventually lead to good things, though he also suspected that things could go the other way with Naruto now having a partner in crime should Sai choose to follow the blonde's lead.

Nothing to be done about it he supposed. He would work around it if need be. The children would spend the rest of their lives in service to the village, best to let them have their fun while they could.

The aged Okami stood to stretch his old muscles since he had been at his desk for a while now. Once he was done with that he turned to his desk and gave a minor glare at the pile of papers still on it. He was starting to see now why Hiruzen disliked the paperwork he went through daily. He wasn't annoyed with his students work, but the letters sent from overly concerned parents questioning his teaching methods. From what he could tell, they all came from the parents who were civilians. He had to answer each and every one as politely as he could. He tired of having to tell them all that he had the blessing of the Hokage.

Sighing, Yomi looked out his window. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out with only a few thin clouds in the sky. A perfect autumn day for a stroll. Shame he was stuck in here.

' _Perhaps I could do this in the park? No need to be cooped up inside all day. Could prove to be far more productive.'_ he thought. Before he could think more about it though, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." he said almost instantly.

Yomi had eyed the door as it opened and wasn't surprised to see Hiruzen enter. He was surprised to see a young chunin follow him in. Judging from his appearance, Yomi gauged his age to be around eighteen-nineteen. He was of average height and didn't appear too muscular. His brown hair was tied up into a ponytail. His most striking feature was a large scar that ran horizontally across the bridge of his nose. It looked like a rather old scar, possibly gained during his youth.

"Hokage-Sama," he addressed Hiruzen such whenever in the company of others as expected. "What brings you to my little corner today? I don't recall us having a meeting today."

"Greetings Yomi-san. I was just escorting Umino-san here because he had a request for you. I think you should hear him out, figured it'd be better if I introduced him rather than him coming on his own. Now that my purpose is done." He turned to the young man. "I assume you are able to make your own introductions from here."

Umino nodded.

"Good. Back to my office." Hiruzen said as he left Yomi's office. Once the door shut Yomi turned his gaze to his guest.

"Well, I guess I should listen to your proposal since the Hokage saw fit to bring you here. He is a busy man after all, he wouldn't waste his time for just anyone. As I'm sure you know, I'm Okami Yomi. And you are?"

"Umino Iruka Okami-Sama." he said with a quick bow.

"Please, Okami-san if you insist on formality. Preferably Yomi-san, but I understand if you prefer being polite." he said with a small smile. "And please, no need to be so stiff right now. I'm a teacher, not one of your superiors."

Iruka loosened up a little at that and let out a breath he had been holding. Yomi motioned to the seat across from him which Iruka took.

"Now, tell me what I can do for you today?"

"Okami-Sam—I mean, Yomi-san. Forgive me if it feels that I am intruding, but I was hoping that you would take me on as an assistant."

"An assistant? Not many your age that are willing to come work at the academy. May I ask your reasons?"

"Of course. It's simple really. I've been searching for a purpose more fulfilling than what I was accomplishing out in the field. I remember after the Nine-Tails attack how the Hokage did everything to ensure that the village remained strong despite our losses. It was inspiring to me. I feel that I can help to pass what he did for me to the younger generation."

Yomi considered Iruka's words. He felt nothing but sincerity from the young man. Clearly this was something he felt strongly about. Looking at him, Yomi recognized a bit of Rasu in him as she said something similar when they had first met. "So you want to do… what exactly?"

"Well, I put in a request to become a teacher a couple months ago. I was told that I was too young to be put in charge of a class and that I could try again in a couple years. Thing is, I don't think I can wait that long. I have never felt a stronger desire to do something than I have for this. I want to inspire the Will of Fire in the children. I can't do that as an active field ninja. If I could just reach them in the classroom…"

Iruka fell silent. Yomi recognized the feeling, he had said everything he could convey and lacked the right words to properly finish his thoughts. Sometimes there were no words, no matter how long you thought about them.

"Ah, I think I remember now. The Hokage did mention something when I first started about a young man who had applied for the open position. Guess that was you. What do you think you'll be able to help with? I've had years of experience with teaching, I know how to handle the worst of students. Just how do you intend to help?"

"Anything really. I can substitute on days you'll be indisposed. I can help with lessons." He looked at the pile of papers on the desk. "Help with paperwork."

Yomi raised an eyebrow at that.

"As you said though, you've been teaching for years. I want to be a teacher. Who better to learn from? Have you ever felt a desire so strong that you couldn't ignore it?"

Yomi swiveled his seat around away from the enthusiastic Umino, drawing a look of confusion for the chunin. The room was silent for several long moments causing Iruka to become nervous.

"Go home Umino-san." Iruka was about to protest before Yomi rose his hand for him to be quiet. "You're going to want to enjoy your last weekend before Monday. I expect you here at six thirty. Normally I'd have you come later, but for the first week I would like to go over what your duties will be. Understood?"

A smile broke out over Iruka's face. "Yes, of course Yomi-san!"

"Good. Now, go home or do whatever to unwind. I'll inform the Hokage that I'll be taking you on as my teaching assistant and to take you off the rotation list."

With a final enthusiastic bow, Iruka left the room. Yomi couldn't help but smile, remembering back to when he first decided to pursue teaching. He felt almost the same, though he didn't aim to teach children at the time. Of course, with an assistant around he could shorten the amount of time he had to spend in the office. Should help when he started up the project he'd been working on at the very least. Looking back at the pile, he had a realization.

"Damn, should've had him start today."

* * *

 **.xVx.**

WHAP!

"DAMNIT! TO HELL WITH THIS!" Momochi Zabuza shouted, having been whapped in the face by a branch for the last time. Enraged, he unsheathed his sword and began to chop his way through the thick growth of forest. "If the client knows what's good for him he'll be halfway to the border as soon as he hands over my pay. Haku, if he's not gone by the count of three once that money is in my hand, you know what to do."

"Of course Zabuza-sama." said Zabuza's young companion said quietly as the swordsman continued to hack through the thick branches.

WHAP!

"FUCK!"

So their journey went for several more minutes before Haku noticed something.

"Zabuza-sama, do you hear that?"

The annoyed older ninja stopped his slashing long enough to hear the melodious sound of a flute being played. Looks like they had finally arrived or close enough at least. After a few more minutes of slicing their way through trees, Zabuza finally broke through into a clearing. In the center were a couple of figures, one tall one short. The shorter of the two was the one with the flute, now playing a soothing piece though it had no effect on the former mist ninja's mood. The taller figure stood there bopping his head to the music.

As the duo got closer they saw that the flute player was a young girl at or around Haku's age. She had dark red hair and wore simple clothing. The man wore simple clothes as well, kind of looked like a farmer really, his bald head didn't help with this assumption. Much as he doubted that they could afford his price for the job, there wasn't anyone else to be seen in this remote area. He strode up to the duo, radiating his annoyance in waves. It only rose when his anger did nothing to affect the two.

"One of you had better have my pay for this job or things are going to get very messy here real quick."

It was only after he was done talking that the girl stopped playing her flute. She turned to Zabuza and gave him a rather bored once over; she didn't seem all that impressed. "Sorry, Boss is running late. He'll be here as soon as his business is done." was all she said before she started playing her flute again, this time a jaunty theme.

Zabuza's eye twitched. "Will he now? Well he had better have a good reason for sending you two to your deaths. You can thank whoever you work with for choosing this location in the afterlife once I send him to join you." he said as he drew his sword.

"Oh stop being so dramatic." the bald man said tossing a jingling bag towards the enraged nin, who caught it while still holding his blade. "Compensation for the late arrival, should be worth a couple hours of your time, though I doubt the Boss'll be that late."

Feeling the weight of the bag, Zabuza deduced that it was actually more than he would have charged though he wasn't about to tell them that. He put the bag on his belt and put away his weapon. "Hmph, fine. But if he's not here in two hours your lives are forfeit."

"Whatever, just enjoy the music. Not like there's much else to do here right now."

Zabuza, once he managed to calm down a little, took a closer look at the two people in front of him. The girl he decided wasn't much to look at. He knew better than to write her off though as he had his own minion her age. No telling what she was capable of though he guessed it may have something to do with that flute of hers. He turned his stare to the older guy, finding it hard to shake the feeling he knew him from somewhere. Judging by the way he held his stance and the way he kept making his own observations, he knew how to handle himself.

After a few minutes, Zabuza started to grow agitated again. "Could you stop playing that thing? It's getting on my nerves."

The girl lowered the instrument from her lips and shot that same contemptable glare at the nin. "Fine, but only because my mouth is getting dry." she said as she put her flute away. After doing so shifted her stare from Zabuza to the shorter figure next to him. Even though Haku was wearing a mask, it was fairly obvious that the youth was looking back at her.

"Who are you supposed to be?" she asked.

Haku glanced at Zabuza first, earning a small nod from the mercenary. "My name is Haku."

"What a boring name. Mine's Tayuya if it matters." she turned to her companion. "That's Hayazo."

"Heya." the bald man greeted.

Silence reigned again after the brief introductions. Thankfully it didn't last long as Hayazo turned his gaze to the sky. "Looks like the boss is here, might want to step a little bit back." he said as he followed his own advice.

Zabuza and Haku both backtracked a few steps. A few seconds later a man dropped from the sky. Zabuza had to resist the urge to draw his sword at his arrival, he didn't sense him coming at all. Though he wasn't the first do so, he never liked it when someone was able to surprise him like that. He remembered that this man hired him though. Besides, he wanted a few answers, namely why he chose this kami forsaken forest. He didn't get the chance to make his grievances known though as the man flipped around to look at the nin.

"So sorry for the late arrival. Unexpected business I'm afraid, unavoidable I'm sure you understand." faster than Zabuza could track the man was in front of him with his palm out expecting a handshake which he gave without quite realizing it.

' _The hell?!'_

"Momochi Zabuza, so nice to meet you in person finally. Can't say that I love your work, but you get results and that's all that really matters in our business. I presume that my associates handed you the payment for your time? Ah yes, I see it there, excellent. I really must apologize for the location, really needed somewhere remote and relatively inaccessible. I was sure you could handle it though; can't be too careful when it comes to privacy."

Zabuza could only stare at the man. He couldn't shake the feeling that this guy really loved the sound of his own voice. For some reason, he got the sense that this man was dangerous despite the fact that he didn't even have his guard up. He just stood there as though one of the most dangerous nuke-nin wasn't standing right in front of him.

"Who are you?"

"Ah yes, where are my manners. My name is Waka."

That didn't clear up anything.

"Nothing else to add to that?"

"I don't believe so. Might we discuss the job?"

Finally, something that made sense. "Yeah, wasn't easy. Guy practically lived in a fortress filled with armed guards. Did the guy in and looked around the office as your letter said, found a lot of interesting things." He pulled out a medium sized pouch and handed it to Waka. "Grabbed what looked nice and incriminating like you said. Don't care much what you plan to do with that and I don't want to know. I did everything you asked, now where is my pay?"

Waka quickly rummaged through the pouch taking note of everything as a grin grew on his face. "Ah, this is wonderful. Exactly what I was looking for." He took out a medium sized briefcase and handed it to Zabuza. "Feel free to count it, you'll find everything I owe you and a little extra for your troubles."

The nuke-nin handed the case to Haku, who opened it and swiftly made a quick count of its contents.

"It's all here and then some Zabuza-sama."

"Hmph, looks like I don't have to kill you today. Though I really should for the inconvenience you put me through to get here."

"But then you might miss out on my offer." Waka said.

Zabuza narrowed his eyes. "What offer?"

"Well it just so happens that I'm looking for skilled people to join my organization. You fit the bill. It would help me immensely to have a man of your skills. I promise the pay would be well worth it."

Zabuza thought about it for moment. "Tempting, but I'm going to have to say no. Not too keen on being someone else's underling. I've got my own priorities that take precedence over anything you want done."

Waka looked a little dejected but quickly shrugged it off. "Well, can't say I didn't expect that answer, still, doesn't hurt to ask. How about this then. I would like to ask to put you on retainer at least. Name an account and you shall receive a regular amount of ryō every month. Should I require your services, you get the retainer and your price for the job I want done. I get your services and you retain your detachment from my organization."

"Hmm… also tempting. I may need to think on that one. Don't expect an answer anytime soon though."

"All I can do is ask. Should you decide on your answer," he pulled out a scroll and gave it to Zabuza. "write down the account you would like funds deposited to and apply a bit of blood. Your pay should be there within twenty-four hours."

Zabuza handed the scrolled to Haku who put it in their carrying bag. "I'll keep that in mind. Say I do accept, how will I contact you if you have a job for me?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll find you. Now that our business is concluded, my associates and I really must be going. Have a safe journey back Momochi Zabuza and Haku. I hope we can do business again. Tayuya?"

Tayuya bit her thumb and placed her palm down to the ground, kanji appearing in the area around the three. A flash of light and they were gone. Honestly, at this point Zabuza really couldn't be surprised. This was hands down the strangest pay off he had ever been part of and he had been to some strange ones. He turned and walked back the way they arrived. Once they reached the tree Haku spoke.

"Zabuza-sama."

"What Haku?"

"I don't recall ever telling him my name."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Something tells me that's not the last time we meet with him. Come on, let's get out of this place."

"Hai Zabuza-sama."

"Least we already cut a path through this mes…"

WHAP!

* * *

 **.xVIx.**

Things had been going well, at first at least. Ever since her run in with Sai things seemed to go a little rougher. The number of village police appeared to have risen since she saw Naruto being chased by them earlier. Why she didn't have the foggiest. Probably pulled another prank that got out of hand. Either way they were asking everybody they met if anyone had seen the boy. She'd been stopped more times than she cared for and could only say the only time she saw him was when he was already being pursued.

' _How is it he can cause me trouble when he's not even around?'_

"Well well well. What have we here?" a voice boomed behind her. "It seems our dear heiress decided to leave the compound without informing anyone!"

"Certainly seems that way. What do you think we should do? Seems only appropriate that we escort her back home safe and sound." a feminine voice responded.

Ammako froze, instantly recognizing the voices and dreading their appearance. She looked back. "Moe. Nure. What are you guys doing here?" she asked nervously.

Moe answered first, his eyes slits, an evil grin on his face. "Well, it's our day off, figured we'd check up on our favorite surrogate niece. Imagine our surprise when we find that she left home without telling anyone where she was going; again."

"Now, Rasu-sama told us to keep an eye on you and make sure you stayed out of trouble. We certainly can't do that when you go missing now can we?" Nure, her expression identical to Moe's. "So tell us, what was so important that you had to leave without telling us where you were going?"

Ammako felt a bead of sweat form on her forehead as she tried gather her thoughts back together. "Well, I got bored you see…"

"Oh well! Why didn't you just say so? If you were so bored we could have scheduled a little extra training for you. Can never have too much training, isn't that right Nure?"

"For once you and I can agree on something Moe. So how about it Ammako-sama? Want to brush up on your brush skills?" Nure asked, an amused grin on her face.

Moe's shoulders fell and he let out an exasperated sigh. "Damnit Nure, you know you lose all credibility when you start saying puns; how many times do I have to tell you? She's not gonna take us seriously now, we almost had her!"

"I won't apologize for good wordplay Moe! You're just jealous that you don't have the wit for it!"

"Wit nothing! I have better things to do than find ways to make my conversations with people more annoying!"

"Whatever birdbrain." Nure said as she turned back to Ammako. Or she would have if Ammako had still been there. "Aaannd she's gone. Wonderful…"

"You lost her?!"

"Oh don't you even think of blaming this on me! You're the one who took your eyes off her first!"

The two continued to argue loud enough that Ammako was able hear them. Good thing, made it easy to keep track of them. She thought that those two were supposed to be some of the more elite ninja in the Okami clan, how when they were off duty they devolved into squabbling ninnies was beyond her. Maybe her book would be able to point out why that was later when she got a chance to read it. Though thinking about it, maybe she should look into Yamauchi like Sai said.

' _Stomach feels weird again. I should really get to Obaa's and get some food.'_

The girl continued to keep track of the fading arguing of her two family members as she made her way the final couple of blocks to the Orange shop. By the time in came into sight she already had visions of cherry cakes swimming in front of her.

She practically ran the last block as she approached the door to the store. Upon entering the building she let out her usual greeting. "Obaa-san! Ojii-san!"

"Back here sweetie!"

Ammako followed the voice to the back room. There she found Mrs. Orange putting frosting on her freshly baked cakes. "Hello Ammako-chan, I wasn't expecting you today. What brings you by?"

"Bored." she said halfheartedly, her eyes fixated on the cakes; a drop of drool on her lip.

Mrs. saw this of course and giggled. Always the same with this girl, thinking with her stomach. "Bored you say? You know, Moe and Nure stopped by earlier looking for you. Mentioned you could use a little more training with your burashijutsu. Doesn't sound like you should be bored at all."

"Huh? What?" Ammako mumbled clearly no longer paying attention to anything Mrs. Orange was saying as a loud grumbling noise filled the room. Rather than look embarrassed, Ammako opened her eyes wide and allowed tears to fall.

Mrs. Orange gave up trying to lecture the girl and slid a finished cake to her. Ammako wasted no time, snatching the morsel up and stuffing as much as she could into her mouth. Smalls sounds of satisfaction escaped from the girl as she coveted the treat. If there was one thing Mrs. Orange loved seeing the heiress happy about her cooking. It didn't take long for Ammako to finish off the cake, nothing but crumbs and a little bit of frosting remained.

"So, has your hunger been sated?"

Rather than a proper answer the girl nodded her head, a happy frosting covered smile. She began to lick what frosting remained on her fingers while Mrs. Orange quietly enjoyed her own cake. Once the girl was done she came to a realization. "Where's Ojii-san? He wasn't in front?"

"Oh, he stepped out for a little bit. Someone we were expecting failed to arrive, so he went to see what was keeping them. I do hope everything is going well."

…

"RUN!"

"Your plan doesn't seem to be working out all that well Naruto."

"YOU THINK?!"

Despite his _careful_ planning he was still spotted and was immediately set upon by the KMP forces. He didn't really understand why it didn't work, he was sure that he had thought of everything. Not much could be said about the plans of a seven year old boy, even if he was trained better than the average seven year old.

Not that he could focus on what went wrong at the moment. Nearly as soon as he was spotted, several units of the police diverged on him. Not the most amount of people to ever chase him, but this time they were angrier than he had ever seen.

"Why are you even here Sai? They're not after you!"

The pale boy didn't respond as he kept pace with the blond. Really, the only thing keeping them ahead of their pursuers was the fact they were small and could get through small spaces. Naruto's knowledge of various short cuts and hiding places proved invaluable as they continued to evade capture. For the time being they managed to lose them but that wasn't going to last. They needed an out. Well, Naruto did. Sai just seemed to be along for the ride.

"Maybe if you apologized for what you…"

"I already told you, I didn't do anything! Come on, this way." Naruto pried a bit of fence allowing them slip through barely missing a passing patrol. "Crap, I'm running out of spots for this area. If we don't get out of here soon…" he didn't finish, as he didn't really know what would happen and he planned to keep it that way.

"Ok, I think we can rest for a second." he breathed out. His impressive stamina was being put to the test this day. Sai looked a little worse for wear, he could put up a front but ultimately his stamina wasn't near that of the Naruto's. He was breathing heavily through his nose and couldn't help but put a hand to his side.

"Sai, really, these guys aren't after you. You could stay here while I draw their attention away." Naruto pleaded with his friend. Sai only shook his head.

"Everything I've read said that friends don't abandon friends."

Naruto didn't know what to say to that. Even though what Sai said touched something in him, he couldn't help but find the whole line a little… cheesy. It sounded like something out of one of those movies he saw at the theater. Still, he was glad that Sai was willing to go that far for him.

"Well, if you're not willing to leave and we can't keep running, what do you suggest we do?"

Sai remained silent as he didn't have an answer. Not that he would have had time as the sound of someone stepping closer to their hiding spot. Both boys went rigid, neither willing to move and give their hiding spot away.

"I'm telling you, I saw motion down this way."

"You heard the captain, we have to get back to the station. Something has popped up and he wants everyone there. We're going to have to track down the brat some other day."

"Grr… Fine. That kid is going to get his one of these days. I know we can't do too much to him, but I at least wanted to see him get chewed out by the Captain."

"You know that every time the kid gets in trouble he's sent off to the Hokage, the Captain never sees him. I don't think he even wants to be in the same room as him. Now come on, I don't want to get in trouble again because of you."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

The officer's voices soon vanished, other duties to attend to it seemed. The boys remained still for several minutes afterwards, only sticking their heads out when they hadn't heard from any of the patrols. Naruto cautiously approached the entrance to the alley and took a look around.

"Right, looks like the coast is clear. Guess they have bigger fish to fry huh?" he said with his usual grin. "Come on, let's get out of here before someone else comes along."

Naruto turned to leave only to stop as he saw the last person he would've expected to see at that moment.

"There you are boy. The Mrs. isn't happy that you're late you know. Sent me out to look for you." a slightly annoyed Mr. Orange said

"OJI!" Naruto exclaimed as he gave the man a hug. "Boy am I glad to see you. You would not believe the day I've had."

The old man returned the embrace. "It wouldn't happen to have something to do with that mess I saw down the street would it?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

Mr. Orange gave Naruto a dubious stare. "Riigght. If you say so. So where are you off to now?"

"I think I'm going to go home. All this running around has got me tired. That's not something that's happened to me before…" he trailed off.

"Yeah, you look beat. I'll tell the Mrs. that you'll stop by some other day then." Mr. Orange turned to Sai. "I take it you're also wanting to head home."

The pale boy, despite his best efforts, looked worse than Naruto did. He was breathing heavily and was doing his best not to fall over. "I think… I could use a… little rest… as well. I don't live… too far from here."

Naruto saw noticed the state of his friend and went over to offer a shoulder for Sai to lean on. "I'll give you a hand. You look like you're going to fall over." Sai accepted without a fuss, looking relieved to have something to rest on as he walked.

"I'll catch you later Oji. Tell Oba I'm sorry. I'll bring Sai by another time."

"Be sure that you do. Better make it sooner than later, she was looking forward to meeting your little friend here."

Naruto nodded as he helped Sai stand up straight and walk. The two started walking in the opposite direction that Mr. Orange was headed. He watched the two go until they turned a corner. Seeing no reason to stick around, he started headed back to his shop.

"Mrs. isn't going to be happy about this. She was so looking forward to meeting Sai. Maybe I should pick her up something nice."

* * *

 **.xVIIx.**

Fugaku wasn't happy about the current circumstances. He peered down into the hurriedly shoveled holes in the torn up floor of the rundown warehouse. The bodies within them weren't too far gone in terms of decay, but the mutilation that was done to them was frustrating. His eyes told him everything he needed to know, seeing down to the smallest details that anyone else would've missed. He kept track of all this information so that he could put it all down later in a report.

The police captain stepped back from the holes in contemplation. Whoever had done this clearly had balls or some kind of mental disorder. Murder inside of a ninja village? While it wasn't unheard of, they didn't happen all that often. Considering the skills of those that lived in them and general level of paranoia that they held, anything out of the ordinary immediately had them on alert. So yeah, Fugaku wasn't pleased.

He looked around the warehouse itself taking even more in about the general layout along with anything that garnered attention. As it stood, he was the only one inside to prevent any contamination to the crime scene. His officers were outside securing the area and looking for clues. As soft footed as ninja could be, a crime scene called for a little more finesse that most nin didn't have. Fugaku scanned the surrounding area a few more times to make sure he didn't miss a thing before he headed towards the exit.

Stepping outside he saw that the Hokage had shown up while he had been inside. With a sigh he walked towards the village leader.

"Report." ordered Hiruzen.

"Four victims. Bodies haven't been here long. If I had to guess, I'd say that they'd been dumped here not too long ago, a day or two at most. Whoever dumped them hurriedly tried to bury them but must have been spooked by something as they didn't finish. Bodies were found when some kids were exploring the area. Told the first officer they came across. Bodies had been mutilated enough to prevent identification, faces crushed and fingerprints were removed post-mortem. Aside from that, they looked in near perfect health, a little malnourished maybe, but overall just fine. No physical evidence that I could see, going to need a forensics team to come and do a sweep. What I did see were several sets of footprints. Different heights and weights, looked like this was a concerted effort to get rid of some bodies." Fugaku told the Hokage.

Hiruzen nodded, noticing that Fugaku was holding something back. "What aren't you telling me Fugaku?"

The police captain hesitated for only a moment before answering. "Well, it's the steps. They all have the same step pattern. Every single one of them. Despite the differences in weight and height, pattern is the same for all of them."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know Hokage-Sama. This is the first time I've seen something like it."

Hiruzen wasn't going to question Fugaku about what he saw, he knew that the man had the best eyes in the village. "Any theories?"

"Transformations come to mind. Why someone would go to the trouble is beyond me, doesn't seem very practical. We don't have enough to go on right now, need more evidence to come up with a conclusive picture." he said taking out a stick of gum. "Want one?"

"No thank you."

Fugaku shrugged as he put the gum in his mouth. He chewed for several seconds before he said anything. "I don't like this. There should be more. Hell, we should already have someone in custody. We should have a small mountain of evidence to support the arrest. This is too clean for something so sloppy."

The two men continued to stand there and watch as the other officers did their work. Neither liked what was happening here. Anything they thought of only raised more questions. Fugaku was right, with the skills at their disposal this case should already be solved and closed or at least have some very good leads.

"What of the victims? Autopsy should tell us who they are."

"Perhaps. A little harder to do with their faces and hands like that. Even with my eyes I wasn't able to recognize any of them. I can tell you this though, they were all civilians. Body types are all wrong for a ninja."

Hiruzen was quiet as the other officers continued their work. With a sigh he finally said, "I want this solved Fugaku. I don't want a murderer loose in my village."

Fugaku didn't respond but he did nod his head. Even if he hadn't been told, his expectations of his forces wouldn't allow them to let this killer or killers get away. He didn't like there being a case with this many unknowns and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Hiruzen in turn also nodded and made his way out of the crime scene. Once he was gone Fugaku walked to one of his officers. "I've seen all I need to here, I'm headed back to my office. Once the forensic teams arrives tell the rest here that they can head back as well. Have a few squads rotate for security. You know the drill."

The officer nodded in acknowledgement before going off to spread the order. Fugaku left the scene, though the direction he left in wasn't towards the station. It didn't really matter for him, his office at the station or his one at home, both had the same things. If they really needed him they knew they could contact him wherever he was.

It didn't take him long to reach the gates of the Uchiha compound. It wasn't much longer before he was at the door to his office. Before he could enter though, a voice spoke behind him. "So, anything interesting come up today?"

Fugaku turned to find his father Yuu there. "Some bodies were found. Not sure why you're asking, you probably knew about it shortly after I did."

"Just making sure that you're not besmirching our good name. The first murders to happen in the village in a long time, wouldn't do at all if the Police Force was unable to catch the one or ones responsible." Yuu said, a certain look of arrogance touching his features.

"Do you have a point or are you here to condescend my methods?"

"Just wanted to remind you what's at stake." Yuu said before he left. Fugaku didn't even wait for him to be gone and went into his office as soon as Yuu turned. He circled around his desk and all but flopped into his chair. He thought for a moment that he should probably get a new chair, this one wasn't very comfy. One more thing to add to the mess that was today.

The bodies found, most of his officers hunting down the container for the stupidest of reasons, all on top of everything else that was going on. Hopefully forensics found something, he needed some good news today. He turned to look out his window. He chose a good spot for his home office as the view overlooked the Uchiha compound, made him feel like he was watching over them all. Today's view brought him some joy as he saw his two sons in the training field together. Given Itachi's responsibilities now the two didn't have a lot of time to just be brothers.

He couldn't help but feel a touch of regret as well. He had all but pushed away Itachi, knowing full well the boy didn't care for the violence inherent to being a shinobi. He didn't fully understand why, Itachi was talented beyond anything he could have hoped for as a father. Despite that though, he carried out his duties to the letter and no more without complaint. While most would've seen that as a simply what a shinobi did, Fugaku saw it as Itachi's way of rebelling. With his level of talent he should be doing more, gaining a name for himself, showing the might of the Uchiha. Instead he coasted on his talent because he didn't want any of that.

Fugaku was sure that Itachi wasn't going to change, not for him, his mother, anybody. Well, maybe one. He watched as Itachi was currently teaching Sasuke the proper way to perform a hand seal. Sasuke. The clan leader knew he made a mistake with him. So focused he was on Itachi's talent that he neglected his younger son. He recognized the younger boy's skill, clearly above that of most children his age but nowhere near what Itachi showed. Maybe he should have paid better attention. Perhaps pass on some of his duties to have more time. Things he should've thought about months ago. Impossible now.

The clan leader had to tear his eyes from the window. Much as he wanted to forget what the Uchiha council had proposed to him, he couldn't deny that he felt what they did at least a little. Much as he didn't want to comply, he felt there was no other options. He couldn't let his clan suffer for something they did not do. For now though, he could put aside those thoughts until the next clan meeting with the council, he had murders to solve. His father was right of course. Murders went unsolved in regular towns and cities, not a hidden shinobi village.

What he didn't tell the Hokage was that there had been similar instances found before, though those had been written off as accidents. With these bodies though he saw enough to draw connections to the earlier bodies. Clues that didn't make much sense when they had first been found but now stood out like beacons on a clear night. He pulled out several folders that detailed these now known killings. He would inform the Hokage of his findings once he had enough evidence to back up his theory.

Right now, he only had his own musings and conclusions. After he had gone over the files and got his evidence, he could prove that these killings were connected to the _accidents_ of years past.

* * *

 **.xVIIIx.**

 **Monday**

"WHAT?!" Ammako's outburst was heard throughout the classroom.

"Ammako-s… ch-chan, p-please, not s-so loud." Hinata pleaded with her friend.

Ammako took a couple of deep breaths before she knelt in closer to Hinata. "Fine, but this is great news. You finally have your byakugan!" she whispered though she was struggling to keep her voice down. This was big news and she was happy. Hinata was finally going to be the kick ass ninja Ammako knew she could be.

Hinata nodded her head, a slight smile on her lips. She might not be boastful, Ammako was more than happy to boast for the both of them, but she was glad that she was finally able to use her clan's doujutsu. It was a weight off her shoulders that there was nothing wrong with her.

Of course, now things were changing at home. Her father had told her the day before that he was personally going to be training her. She was both excited and dreading the experience. The first because it could possibly be the most amount of time she could spend with her father. The second because she had a lot of catching up to do and fully expected her father to push her hard. Either way, she'd finally be learning the fighting style of her clan. Maybe now the Elders would stop looking at her like a failure.

A quick glance at Ammako told Hinata that the girl was bursting with excitement for her. All the more reason that she felt her decision not to tell the white haired girl about her issues with her clan members was the right one. She hated hiding that from her, but knowing Ammako as she did, she knew that the girl would do what she could to try and gain some manner of revenge on them for looking down on their heiress. She didn't want that to happen, for various reasons.

"What are you two whispering about?" the sing-song voice of Ino asked. The girl had an annoying ear for gossip, they must burn on a regular basis.

Ammako turned to her fellow heiress. "Hinata-chan?"

She let out a sigh, knowing that Ino wouldn't go away until she had something, might as well let her know. "I-I activated my d-doujutsu this weekend."

Ino looked a little disappointed at the news. "That's it? I was expecting something juicier than that. I mean, I'm happy for you and all, but this was bound to happen right?"

"T-there was a chance i-it would skip o-over, my mother isn't a H-Hyūga by blood."

"I guess that makes sense." Ino said as she took a seat next to Hinata. "Still, I was hoping for some really good gossip there." she pouted.

"Shouldn't you be sitting down by Sasuke?" Ammako asked.

"Hmm? Eh, he's not here yet, I can talk for now. Besides, Sakura's home sick today, I need girl talk. Either of you two have any exciting news aside from Hinata's thing?"

"Not really. I just read and trained. Nothing exciting there." A thought struck Ammako. "Though, when I was out I heard about this big commotion happening in town. Something to do with Naruto."

"Is that all? I already know about that. Don't know anything about what actually happened though, just that it made a huge mess."

"Yeah, I saw him run by being chased by the police. What do you think he did this time?"

Ino thought for a bit. "I don't really want to if I'm being honest. I mean, how often do we have to hear about the trouble he caused? There's nothing surprising there. Nothing new."

"I dunno, he riled up the police force a good deal. Enough to have them hunting him down for a good while there."

Hinata thought about what she was hearing. Anything regarding the blond boy tended to catch her attention. She couldn't help but think of that winter day when he saved her from those bullies. Normally she would have had Ammako by her side and wouldn't have worried about them, her friend would have chased them off. Not that day though. She remembered wandering away from Ko and getting lost. Then the bullies showed up, wanting to taunt and harass her for no other reason than being a Hyūga.

While she wasn't able to do much on her own, she did attempt to push them away. Not that it did much. She didn't have Ammako's confidence much as she wanted it. Only when she was around did Hinata feel stronger than she would on her own. Thankfully, a certain blond happened to be nearby. Hinata remembered him just jumping in and tried to scare the boys off. When that didn't work the bullies jumped him and delivered a series of beatings to the poor boy. On top of that they took his scarf from him and used it to entertain themselves and all but destroyed it in the process. Having had their fun and pretty much forgetting about Hinata, they left laughing.

She attempted to help the boy, worried that he was too injured to do anything for himself. She was surprised to see him pull himself up off the ground and shake off any attempts at help. She tried to thank him but he shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. He left after that, giving her a big bright smile.

She didn't see him again until his first memorable entry into class.

She was so surprised to see him that she let out an involuntary eep. Since then she would often shoot glances in his direction. He was a curiosity surely with his big dream of becoming Hokage one day. Despite everything most of the class said to demean his dream he kept his head held high and refused to let anyone knock him down. Though she couldn't help but compare him to Ammako, she could easily see their differences. What she couldn't see was what gave him that strength? Ammako was confidant because of her status and upbringing. What did this boy have?

"Hinata?"

The Hyūga girl only just barely managed to repress jumping out of her seat. "Huh? Oh, y-yes Ammako-chan?"

"You ok there? You kind of spaced on us there?"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I-I was just thinking."

"Oh? Thinking about what exactly? Boys?" Ino asked smugly, a coy grin on her face.

"W-what? N-n-n-no!" Hinata stammered out, a shade of pink making itself known on her cheeks.

Before Ino could capitalize on this, the subject of Hinata's thoughts loudly made his presence known into the room.

"I'm just saying, if you hadn't been slowing me down I could've made that jump." Naruto said as he walked in. "Do you know how long it took me to wash off the trash smell?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't be training on rooftops yet Naruto. You were fortunate that dumpster was there to break your fall."

"No way! How else are we supposed to get good if we train on the ground?" the blond said as he sat down. "Granted, I could do without smelling like last week's meal had a party with a month long dead skunk."

Sai said nothing as he took his seat next to his friend. It wasn't long before he had his sketchbook out and supplies out.

Hinata noticed that the class quieted down a bit as soon as the duo entered. Perhaps everyone was waiting to see who would ask what happened this weekend first. It didn't take long before a certain tattooed boy popped the question.

"So Naruto, what did you do this weekend?" Kiba asked.

Missing the obvious undertones of the loaded question Naruto answered, "Uh, not much. Hung out with Sai. Ate ramen. Trained. Ate ramen. Slept. Ate ramen. You know, the usual."

Most of the class had to let out groan of frustration at that. Kiba was of course annoyed with Naruto's answer. "Really? Nothing else of interest? Nothing at all?"

Naruto thought about it, hard enough that he strained his brow in concentration. He released it once he came to a conclusion. "Nope, nothing I can think of."

Several thuds were heard around the room as several students who had been expecting a better answer planted their faces onto their desks.

Kiba naturally snapped. "Oh come on! We all know that the KMPF were after you! Spill it! What did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything! They were only after because they couldn't find who really did it."

"Like anyone would believe that nimrod. Come on, you can tell us." Kiba pressed.

"Yeah Naruto, tell us." Ino joined in, a manic gleam in her eyes.

Hinata watched as Naruto unsuccessfully tried to convince everyone that he had nothing to do with what happened on Saturday. Much as she wanted to be helpful in some way she couldn't as she had been in bed and hadn't even been aware that something had happened.

So the classroom antics continued until Yomi-Sensei walked into the room, followed by a brown haired man with a scar across the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, alright, calm down everyone." Yomi-Sensei ordered as he walked to his desk. "Everyone, I would like you introduce you to Umino Iruka. He will be joining us as my assistant. I want you all to welcome him with the same amount of respect you would show to me."

"Hai, I am happy to be here. I look forward to meeting and getting to know you all." Iruka greeted the class.

"Thank you Iruka. Take seat over here please and we'll get class started."

* * *

 **And Scene!**

Ok, so a few things I would like to mention here.

First I wanted to talk a bit about Sai. This is not canon Sai at all. Trust me, I tried to make it work, it didn't. This Sai has absolutely no ties to ROOT or Danzo what so-ever, so yay! Don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that, it just allows me to make things work better for him.

Second is Hinata. In canon Naruto is her source of confidence and strength. Well here she has Ammako for that. This changes her interest in Naruto ever so slightly. I have a reason for this. Mostly just trying to slow things down a bit for her. Other than that, things should progress as it looks, I think, no idea what I'm saying here right now.

Ont to Reviews!

 **Dragon Man 180** \- You know, I didn't think of that. Would probably work better with Akamaru than Kiba though. Looking forward to showing Sai's personal gorwth. Right now he's any extremely socially awkward kid who doesn't know better and Naruto isn't going to be the one to make things better. As for Crimson Helm... you'll see.

 **bladetri** \- _

 **Guest** \- Hell Yeah! Bromance!

 **Aguion12** \- Oh yes. Sai and his jutsu were just too good to pass up for this crossover. He still has a lot to learn, but I look forward to it. Eh, kind of ish sorta for the second thing. You'll see. Maybe. I dunno.

 **Capt. Schroller** \- Thanks for the condolences. I am felling much better physically, though I suspect I may have some minor psychological issues that need to be dealt with. Don't really know what to say about everything else though. Zuko! I'm borrowing your line! That's rough buddy.

 **Shokujin-Okami** \- That's a lot of stories to catch up on man. I hope you make it through them all and am honored that mine is one of the ones you got to. Frankly, I still feel that the puzzle is as transparent as glass, but as the author I guess that's unavoidable. Though, as this chapter should prove, no, it didn't suppress her byakugan. It's doing something else. Everything else should have been revealed last chapter, so there's that.

Hell yeah! PS4 version! And now I have to go and get the switch version when it comes out, figures they would announce it. At this point if they release an app version for phones I would get that one too.

Anyway, for those that were worried I had written out Iruka, have no fear for he is here! The man is too great for Naruto to get rid of, I just needed him to not be the classes main instructor. That and if I did my math right, he would have been around 17 when the genin started, a little young to be a teacher I think. Not to young to be an assistant though!

Alas, I have noted that I won't be doing the graduation chapter next. Still have a few more things to cover before we get there. One more chapter.

That said, no one commented at all on the other story ideas, so I'm going to take that as you want me to focus on this one. Alright, I will, but if I start to feel the itch that I felt when I started this story, you can bet I'm going to start on another one.

Anyway, until next time, Please review and have a great day!


	11. Fire in the Night

Woo! On a roll guys! As usual, thoughts will be at the end.

Also, haven't been saying this enough, I own squat regarding Okami and Naruto.

* * *

 **Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 11**

 **Fire in the Night**

* * *

 **.xIx.**

Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork, once again feeling that he wasn't alone in his office anymore. "Jiraiya, I know that telling you not to come in through my window is a pointless endeavor, but could you at least send word ahead of time when you come back."

Sure enough the white haired Sannin was pulling his foot in through the window.

"You could ask, might be more effective as an order. Can't make any promises on that though." Jiraiya said as he went directly to Hiruzen's liquor cabinet. He poured two glasses before he moved to the Hokage's desk and took a seat. Hiruzen took the offered glass and took a sip as Jiraiya downed his in a single gulp. He looked down at Hiruzen's paperwork. "Whatcha working on?"

"Oh, just some immigration papers. Have some people interested in moving to the village." The Hokage said as Jiraiya poured himself another glass.

"Long trip?"

"You could say that." Jiraiya replied as he finished his second drink and set the glass down and began to rummage through his satchel. "Figured it'd be quicker if I brought some of what I picked up in person rather then send it through the usual channels."

Hiruzen watched as his student took out several scrolls and other items. This of course got him curious.

"Any particular reason why you felt this was necessary?"

Jiraiya didn't answer at first, still sorting through the items. Once he was done he looked as Hiruzen. "I have to go under for a while. Ma and Pa are insisting I finish my training back at Mount Myōboku. Don't know why now after so many years but they're being really insistent."

"So no idea on why they're asking you back there now?"

"None. Might as well though, I've been needing some time to slow down and get some training in. Too many of my leads are currently cold and I can't do anything about that right now. Either way, I wanted to get all of my current reports and information. Mostly standard stuff here but still relevant." He picked up a few scrolls that looked different from the others. "These ones I thought would be the most interesting."

He placed a scroll with a red cap forward first. "This is a report out of Onigakure. My sources say that there's been an uprising of sorts and the country is on the brink of civil war. They'll start sending reports to a designated drop for the time being, I'll have an agent pick them up and send them here while I'm gone. Thought this should something we oughta keep an eye on."

Next was a purple capped scroll. "This one I thought was a bit unusual. Some shipping magnate by the name Gatō was killed several months ago. Normally this wouldn't have stood out, but considering how long it took me to find this information obviously raised some questions. Like why they covered it up in the first place. My gut tells me that something's there, I just don't know what yet."

The final scroll was green capped. "This last one is the most suspicious." He unrolled the scroll revealing an image of Orochimaru. "Finally got something on the traitor. Years of almost nothing and then this popped up. Sources are saying he joined up with some mercenary group that only hires S-ranked nukenin. How we didn't know about this group before is distressing to say the least. This one I'll still be looking over while I'm away. Whatever information my agents can get will be sent to me at Myōboku via the toads."

Hiruzen looked through the scroll. It didn't take long for him to get through it all with more questions than answers. "Not much to go on is there."

"Unfortunately no. But now that we know what to look for my agents are focusing on this. Any word they can get on this group's activities are to be sent to me. I don't know what Orochimaru is up to, but the fact that he joined up with this group means they have something to have piqued his interest. Whatever that something is it can't be good.

"Does this group have a name?"

"Akatsuki. I don't know Sensei, something feels off about all this. I can't shake the feeling that… I don't know… something." a concerned look in his eyes.

"Instinct?"

"Yeah." he looked up at the ceiling his eyes unfocused.

Hiruzen didn't need to guess where Jiraiya was at the moment. He still blamed a lot of what had happened with his former teammate on himself. The Hokage understood the feeling.

"How's Naruto doing?"

Hiruzen smiled a little, glad to stop thinking of his failures. "I think you'll be happy to know that he made a friend. A strange boy, but they get along well enough. Though I do wonder about their extracurricular activities."

"Raising some hell?" Jiraiya asked with a small smile. "Reminds me a little of myself."

"Naruto was doing just fine by himself on that. Then he befriended Sai. The amount of paperwork I've had to deal with since then has increased a little because of all the complaints against them. Though I guess that started back with what the police force have dubbed _the Ramen Incident_. They're still trying to figure out everything that happened, details have been sparse or over exaggerated. If you manage to find anything out I'm sure that there would be several who would be happy to know. I myself couldn't care less, a minor incident when I'm running the rest of the village."

Jiraiya's smile grew hearing that and thinking back on the havoc he caused at that age. "Well, I just wanted to inform you about leaving." he glanced at the clock. "I really need to be going Sensei. I've got other things I need to do before I head to Myōboku. I'll stop by again after I finish."

"Alright, I'll see you later then Jiraiya."

…

Jiraiya looked up at the gates of the Okami compound. The last stop before he went back to see Hiruzen and by far the one he was looking forward to the most.

' _Saved the best for last.'_ he thought with a lecherous grin. Over the years he had gotten to know the Okami clan head pretty well and she was more than happy to see him. He didn't kid himself about their relationship being more than it was, which seemed to be that of close friends. Still didn't stop him from dreaming about those curves though. _'If I could only just get a glimpse I could die happy.'_

It didn't take long for someone to notice him at the gate and invite him in. He entered the main house and waited. He didn't currently know where he would be going as if there was one thing he knew of Rasu, she detested being in her office when she didn't have to be. Which was more than likely, he had only ever seen her office twice in the times he'd been there. He didn't wait long though as someone came along.

"Excuse me. Might you be able to tell me where Rasu-sama is? I have a delivery for her."

"Ah, Jiraiya-dono, welcome. Rasu-sama is currently in the gallery. I could escort you if you want." the short man said to the Sannin.

"Thank you, ah… uh, Tachi was it?"

The youngish looking man gave a nod before turning and leading Jiraiya deeper into the mansion. Looking around at the halls as they walked, Jiraiya noticed a number of new portraits and paintings that now lined the walls.

"These are new. Who painted them?"

"I couldn't say, I prefer to focus on my combat training so I didn't pay attention. I leave the artsy stuff to my other family members." He said sternly, really unlike the aloof tone most of his clan members took.

They came to an ornately designed set of double doors. If there was one thing that Jiraiya could say about the Okami's, it was that they enjoyed their elaborate art style. Not for simply having a nice looking residence, but for the mere fact that they made it themselves. That's what happens when your family is made up of artists he guessed.

"If that's all you needed, I'll take my leave. Word of advice, I suggest you prepare yourself before entering." Tachi said before walking off.

Jiraiya looked down at himself. _'I guess I am a little grubby.'_

He took a minute to tidy himself up, better prepared than he was last time he was in this position. He pulled out a fresh shirt and haori and quickly switched them with his travel worn clothes. He swiftly ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to put his wild locks in order. He wouldn't deny that he harbored a crush towards Rasu. He doubted anyone would blame him for wanting to look his best when around her.

He made sure that he looked presentable one last time. Once he was happy with how he looked he went to the door and gave it a heavy knock.

"Come in!" a voice said that he recognized as Rasu's.

He opened the door and strode in confidently. What he saw once he got three steps into the room caused him to halt in his tracks.

Before him was Rasu, spread out seductively over a chaise lounge couch. She was mostly nude, only a few carefully located sheets of fabric covering her more interesting parts. Even with that, Jiraiya could see all of her lovely curves and pale skin on display. For more than a moment his brain refused to do anything other than to desperately try to remember every second of the vision before him. He didn't blink, he didn't move, he didn't even breathe. Though no more than a few seconds had passed, Jiraiya felt as if several minutes had passed before Rasu addressed him.

"Oh! Jiraiya-sama! I wasn't expecting you. Please wait a moment would you? Miya here is just finishing up her portrait and I need to stay still." she said excitedly not bothering to cover herself. True enough she remained perfectly still.

"No problem." he said automatically not actually hearing her words as he continued to stare. Another long second passed before he managed to regain control of his faculties. Despite wanting nothing more than to get another glance, he forced himself to look away as he fought back a nosebleed. As he did so, he felt inspiration hit him as it often did during his usual _research_ sessions. He pulled out his notebook and began to jot down the ideas that were quickly coming to him almost faster than he could write them down.

"Hmm… yes, yes. I think that would work. Ooo. If I do that then I can make this work…" he mumbled as he got his ideas down. "Oh man, my publisher is going to love this."

"What're you writing?" a voice asked next to him.

Jiraiya paused after nearly having filled out two pages worth of material. He looked upand saw that Rasu was done with her pose, now covered in a white silk robe, the girl who had been there nowhere to be seen. He only just managed to concentrate on something other than the tips of her breasts showing through the thin fabric. He was here for a reason damnit!

"Oh, ah, just some ideas for my next book." he said sheepishly. "Inspiration tends to hit me when in the presence of a beautiful woman."

"Why thank you Jiraiya-sama." she said as she gave him a small slap to his arm. "Now I'm sure that you couldn't possibly have known that I was modeling today, so what brings you by." she asked as she circled around a desk and sat down.

Jiraiya struggled to remember why he had come to Okami compound in the first place, his brain good and muddled. His hand brushed his bag and he remembered. He reached inside of it and grabbed a scroll. "Got a delivery for you from someone I'm sure you know."

He sat down and unrolled on the scroll on the desk. He placed his palm on its surface and channeled a bit of chakra into it. A large round paper covered package popped into existence. "A certain acquaintance of ours left this at a drop point addressed to you. I was coming back to the village anyway, so I thought I'd deliver it in person. That and I would use any excuse to visit you my dear Rasu-chan."

Rasu smiled as she reached for the package and drew it to her. "Aren't you the charmer. Thank you for bringing this to me Jiraiya-sama." she said as she unwrapped it.

A few seconds later they looked down at the strange object. Before them lay an old metal disc, ancient if the green patina on its surface was anything to go by.

"What is it?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm not sure. There was a letter in the packaging. He didn't say what it is, just that he found it in the depths of an old ruin. There were Okami markings there so he figured it must be one of ours." Rasu said as she turned the large over in her hands trying not to drop it. She ran her fingers over the elaborate designs on what she assumed was its back. She reached into her desk and brought out a bottle of liquid.

"What's that?"

"Cleaning fluid. I think I can get some of this grime off of here. I want a closer look at these markings on the back." she said as she applied some of the fluid to a napkin and began carefully wiping down the discs surface.

Slowly the grime began to come off revealing more of the carvings. Jiraiya couldn't help but marvel at how exquisite the markings were. As more of the grime came off, he began to make out lettering on the outer ring.

"Rasu, do you see that?"

She paused her cleaning and looked at what Jiraiya mentioned. Seeing the lettering, she focused her efforts on removing the buildup on the outermost ring. After a bit more cleaning they were able to read what the kanji said though her efforts were in vain.

"I can't read it. The kanji must be old."

"Might I? I've had some experience with this." Rasu handed him to disc and he quickly ran his eyes over it. "Hmm… it's a quote, says _'Okami Amaterasu, Origin of all that is good and mother to us all.'_ if I'm not mistaken. Relative of yours?"

"Must be, though I have no idea who that is. Maybe a former matriarch of our clan? What's that part right there?" she asked gesturing at a small group of kanji separate from the rest.

"Let's see… this one is a bit rougher, but I think it means _Divine Retribution_." Jiraiya said as he studied the surface even more. He noticed some odd markings near the center. He gave them a closer look.

"I think these are fuinjutsu markings. I wonder if…" he placed his finger on the strange markings and channeled some chakra. Nothing happened. "Damn, I was sure that would work."

"Maybe I should give it a try. It is an Okami artifact after all, it'll most likely only work for an Okami." she concluded and took it from Jiraiya. Spotting the symbol, she pressed her finger and channeled her own chakra.

The reaction was instantaneous. All the filth and grit were shed off of the disc revealing its true appearance. The disc itself was a lovely deep jade green accented by inky black onyx. More lettering were revealed as the last of the grime was forced away. Though its overall appearance was plain the craftsmanship of it was remarkable. Not a single carving was out of place nor did a single scratch mar its surface. If it looked exquisitely crafted before, it was undeniably beautiful now.

"It's so pretty." Rasu said in awe, her eyes never leaving the disc. She ran her fingers over its flawless surface and noticed that her fingertips didn't leave a single blemish. She turned it over to see the other side and was surprised to see a highly polished mirror like surface. If she didn't know any better she would have thought it was glass.

With it flipped Jiraiya was able to see the newly revealed markings and gave them a quick once over. He was getting better at reading these older kanji and soon had them translated.

"Huh, that's interesting. These ones say _'Sunrise, Rejuvenation, Power Slash, Greensprout, Cherry Bomb, Waterspout, Crescent, Galestorm, Inferno, Veil, Catwalk, Thunderstorm, and Blizzard.'_ Those are the names of some of your brush techniques aren't they? That must mean that the rest are your missing techniques! I can't read this one next to veil though."

"Really?" Rasu said excitedly as she looked over the symbols. "This is amazing! We've been trying to find out what the other techniques were forever now! I have to tell the others! This is so great!"

She leaned over the desk and planted a kiss on Jiraiya's cheek before she stood up. "This can't wait. I'm sorry to cut this visit short Jiraiya-sama but I have to tell everyone. I'm sure you can see yourself out." she managed to say before she ran out the room and out of sight. "MICHI! Gather everyone to the main hall! I have something to tell everyone!"

Jiraiya sat frozen in his seat. He slowly raised his hand to his face and felt the spot that Rasu had kissed. He didn't know what to think about that. He honestly wasn't expecting that to happen. After a bit he couldn't help but smile. This was going to be a memory that he would cherish. Though he regretted that he was leaving sooner than he thought he would, he was still happy that Rasu had something she could share with her clan. Rasu had run off before he could tell her that he was leaving for who knows how long. He spotted a piece of parchment and quickly jotted out a note for her explaining. He stood and exited the gallery. If only he had been a little slower, he would have seen ethereal flames form around the disc for a moment before they vanished.

* * *

 **.xIIx.**

"Argh! None of this makes sense!" Fugaku all but shouted. Ever since he made the connection between the civilian deaths he had made it his mission to find the culprit. Unfortunately he had hit a bit of a dead end. He could easily say that due to the identical step pattern that he was dealing with someone who changed shape. But the small chakra signature wasn't present that normally came with a transformation jutsu wasn't there. One of the reasons why they didn't work all that well long term against other ninja, after a bit even the lowliest of genin would start to pick up on it.

Sixteen months and no further leads were found. Other than finding out who a few of the victims were by cross referencing body types with missing person's reports. The interesting thing was that they were all loners or spent most of their time away from others. A man who had lost his family in the Kyuubi attack. A woman who had mental issues and spent most of her time indoors. All people that wouldn't have been noticed for a long while if they vanished. Even the ones whose deaths were labeled accidents fit the pattern.

He made an effort to have his officers keep an eye on people who fit the bill as potential victims. So far that had turned up nothing. Their screw up had notified authorities that murders were happening, so now he was laying low. Least Fugaku assumed the killer was male, statistics usually meant he for violent crimes. Could be a she for all he knew.

He toyed with the idea of the killer possibly leaving the village, though he dismissed that theory early on. The killer had been in the village for years, they wouldn't just up and go even if they had been discovered. His gut told him that the killer was still in Konoha.

The problem was the why. He knew why the civilians were killed. To take their place. What he didn't know was the motive. Other than these people giving the killer an easy identity to take, they didn't possess any real value. None had clearance or access to the more sensitive doings of the village. So why? A spy would have left as soon as their cover was blown. Any normal killer would have done the same. He supposed he may be a bit paranoid in thinking the killer was still there, but why? The single word hounded him throughout this case.

He was missing something, but what? Nothing was making sense. Were they after something and hadn't found it yet? It seems most likely. And if so, what? If he could find out maybe he could lay a trap, catch the killer red handed.

Of course, it didn't help that a couple people were making his life hell because it. Danzo made it abundantly clear he wasn't happy with Fugaku's inability to capture a mere serial killer. His father was made it a point to inform him every couple of days the shame he was bringing to the Uchiha name. Not that he could do much about it. With his eyesight going there wasn't much leeway he could get to have him replaced and the Elder council knew they couldn't replace him right now, not with everything going on. Might as well go ahead and tell the Hokage everything they've been planning. Though knowing Hiruzen as he did, Fugaku figured that he already knew and was searching out a peaceful solution. Shame that they had crossed that line long ago.

He already suspected that Itachi was a mole for the village leader. Wouldn't surprise him if that was the case really. In fact, it would answer a lot. He looked at the picture of his family and noted it didn't look like much of one. Both he and Itachi stood off to the sides as far from each other that they could get inside the frame with Mikoto and Sasuke in the center. The only one with a full smile was his beautiful wife and Sasuke held a slight grin, most likely only because he was told to. Itachi and he both wore grim expressions ruining the effect of a happy family.

Things were swiftly getting out of hand. He didn't want this to be his legacy, but he had no choice to but to do what was best for the clan. He often thought about what it would've been like if he had done as his father had asked and challenged Minato for the title of Hokage. An outdated way to gain to be sure but it was still valid. He knew that Orochimaru thought about it but decided against it as at the time he knew he didn't stand a chance. Fugaku figured that he could've given Minato a run for his money, if he revealed that he had a major trump card up his sleeve. He brushed his fingers over his eyes for a brief moment as a dark memory passed through his mind.

No, it was better this way. If he revealed that now it would only lead to further hardship for the clan.

He stood and walked to his window and looked out like he had so many times before. It was comforting in a way. Reminded him what he was working for. Didn't help him today though, it hadn't helped in weeks. He found that more and more lately that he was reevaluating things. His position. His family. His sons. His current situation. Maybe if he had made some different choices. Too late to change that now, his path was set. Only thing he could do now was see it though and deal with the consequences.

What he wouldn't give for his wife to be here right now. He really needed someone to talk to. She was well aware of everything that was happening and knew that all she could do was support him. She had recently decided to go back into the field as her sons didn't need to be looked after every day now. He of course supported this as he had hoped that one of her missions would take her away from the village should everything go to hell. Now he just had to find a way to safeguard his sons.

He was sure that if it came to that he could work something out with Hiruzen. He named his son after the Hokage's father after, he even asked for permission to do so. Shame peace was the last thing on most of the conspirators' minds. They only wanted power because they felt they deserved it. As if their kekkei genkei proved anything. Powerful yes, but it attracted much distrust from their allies.

He wondered when Mikoto would return. He had a lot on his mind.

* * *

 **.xIIIx.**

"Ugh…" Naruto let out as he collapsed to the ground.

"Looks like we finally found your limit Uzumaki! I was beginning to think that we never would." Onigiri crowed, at last seeing that he hadn't lost his touch. Nearly two years of teaching this brat and he had yet to see him as exhausted as he was now. Would've been a blow to his ego if he hadn't managed to break each student he ever taught.

"I… I can still…" Naruto struggled to breathe out as he tried to stand up. His arms and legs failed him though. Rather than attempt again, he remained there with his face in the dirt.

"So, now that you know what the rest of your class feels like every other day, I can actually teach you something. One can only push past their limits once they have reached them. You proved to be a greater challenge than I originally thought." the aged instructor said as he poked Naruto with his shinai. "So, what have we learned?"

Naruto mumbled something incomprehensible, not even bothering to turn his face out from the earth.

"That's right. Onigiri knows all and you should listen to him at all times."

This provoked Naruto to actually muster the strength to rotate his head. "That's not what I said and you know it old man!"

"I'm the Sensei here and what I say goes."

The rest of class was a mixture of responses. Kiba was trying to hold a gloating grin though that didn't mean much as he was holding his side from his own session. Sai joined in with Onigiri in poking Naruto while he was down, though more to annoy him than to prove a point. Most of the class was able to muster a small cheer at hearing that Naruto was finally on the ground with them, though it was halfhearted at best.

The only one who seemed disinterested was Sasuke. Onigiri noted that wasn't out of character for the boy, he often chose not to involve himself in the social happenings of the class. This time was different though. While Sasuke didn't join in, he did pay attention like a good shinobi should. Not this time. His gaze was distant and his movements up to collapse had been automatic at best. Something was clearly on his mind and was distracting him from current events.

"All right, all right. Take Five minutes then get back to Yomi-Sensei. You're all done here for the day. Go to lunch and I'll see you all in two days." Onigiri said as he watched his students pick themselves up off the ground and shamble off to get something to eat. He himself opted to head towards the building.

Before long he was at the classrooms door. Not even bothering to knock he entered to find Yomi and his assistant going over schoolwork.

' _Hmm… need to get me one of those.'_ he thought to himself. He'd have to talk to the Hokage about that. Not for any real reason of course, he just wanted someone to deal with the more menial tasks of training that he didn't want to be bothered with.

He pondered over this and noticed that the two didn't acknowledge him even enter the room. Well that was just rude. He let out a loud cough to get their attention.

"Hmm? Oh, Onigiri. Class gone to lunch I take it?"

Onigiri gave a curt nod before looking at Iruka. "Lad, would you mind leaving the room for a moment? I have something to discuss with Yomi here."

"Of course." the young man said as he stood and exited.

"Something on your mind?"

"Just wanted to mention something about Sasuke to you."

…

The school day was almost over and everyone was itching to get out the doors. Yomi had listened to his friend and decided that he should get to the root of the issue while he had the boy here.

"I suppose that wraps up everything for the day. As soon as the bell rings you may all go home. No homework today. Sasuke-san, I would like to have a word with you if you don't mind."

A few oohs and hooting came from the more rambunctious students though Sasuke didn't seem to notice them as he simply nodded in confirmation. It didn't take long for the room to clear when the bell rang. Soon it was just Yomi and Sasuke. Rather than summon the boy to his desk, Yomi got up and took a seat next to him.

"Onigiri was telling me that you looked distracted today. I should have noticed as well. Mind telling me what's going on?" he asked.

Sasuke remained quiet for several moments before he gave a reply. "It's nothing. Just some family stuff."

"Well, family stuff can be distracting on many aspects of life, school included. I'm not trying to pry Sasuke-san, just want to see if there is anything I can help with."

The boy once again was quiet, this time his face showing a struggle on whether or not he should say something. He let out a sigh when he made his decision.

"It's my mom. She came back from a mission. She was filling in as sensei for a genin team on a routine bodyguard job. Things… didn't go so well. One of the students didn't make it and another is in the hospital. They don't know if he'll make it. The one… lost… was my cousin, she's taking it pretty hard. She hasn't left her room in a few days. I'm worried and Oto-san won't let me see her."

Yomi said nothing as Sasuke told him what was going on.

"That's not all." he dug into his pocket and brought out a broken necklace. "This was a gift from my father to her for their first anniversary. It was broken during the mission. It really means a lot to her and I thought that I could try and fix it to cheer her up. But nothing is working and everyone I've taken it to told me that it's beyond repair."

"Hmm, let me see." Sasuke handed the broken bauble to Yomi, who flipped it over a couple times in study. It may have once been a beautiful piece but was now mangled and bent out of shape. He noticed a few broken shards of what must have been a precious gem in the fixture. No wonder Sasuke was told it was beyond repair. Of course, that didn't mean all hope was lost. "Well, I've got good news and bad news. Good news is that I can be fixed. Bad news is that it can't be fixed with conventional means. I mean, not without breaking it down to be built back up again."

Sasuke looked hopeful for a second till he heard that second part. "What do you mean? What can fix it?"

"Well, I could, but I don't think that's what you want. Not really anyway. That and I think it would mean more if you were the one to do it."

Sasuke looked confused at that. How could he fix it? His teacher just told him that regular means of fixing it were out of the question. He thought about it for a second before realization hit him.

"You don't mean…?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Our techniques aren't hiden jutsu after all. It's just that most people aren't able to use them all that effectively as we do so they don't bother. You Uchiha are able to use just about anything you get your hands on though, so I suspect you'll be able to learn it just fine."

"You mean it? I can fix Mom's necklace on my own?"

"It won't be today, but come by the compound tomorrow and I'll have what I need to teach you how to fix this. Don't worry Sasuke-san, we'll have your mom feeling better before the week is out."

Sasuke let a small smile touch his lips for a moment before he something ran across his mind. "Are you sure it won't be too much trouble? Don't you have anything else to do?"

"Not really. I was planning on teaching Ammako-chan the basics of Rejuvenation soon anyway, so might as well."

"Why?"

"I've been where you are right now. I know what it's like to feel like you aren't able to do anything. I had someone to help me out then just as I'm now here to help you. It sounds like your mother would love to have her necklace fixed. I am more than happy to help with that. Come by tomorrow at five and I'll show you how to fix that, okay?"

"Okay." Sasuke said, excitement and joy barely making their way to his face. Hard to tell with Uchiha's.

"Anytime Sasuke-san."

* * *

 **.xIVx.**

Rasu flipped the disc over in her hands for what seemed the hundredth time. She couldn't get over the craftsmanship that it displayed. It was smooth to the touch despite being who knew how old. Even more impressive was the mirror side of it. The metal used was polished to be perfectly clear as if it were glass though its coloration was of … bronze she guessed? It held a charm that she absolutely loved.

She spent more of her time however gazing at the intricately designed reverse side. For so few words on it and yet it answered so many questions. She had spread word of the find to the rest of the family as soon as she could've and they were as excited about it as her. Granted they still didn't know where to find more of their history, but this was a start. The disc was by far one of the best finds to be returned to them and she just couldn't get enough of it.

She had tried to figure out what it was made of but none of her crafters had been able to discern what material it was. All they knew is that it was tough. She did wonder why something like this would need to be as sturdy as it was. Sentiment maybe? A gift? If only they could find some more information on it.

Before she could ponder more on it her office door burst open as her daughter ran into the room. Ammako slammed the door shut as soon as she was in and locked it.

"Ka-san! Hide me!" Ammako shouted as she dove behind Rasu's desk.

Before she could respond there as was loud thump on the door as someone slammed into it.

"Ammako! Get out here at once!" the feminine voice of Nure yelled.

Rasu looked down at the guilty face of Ammako. "What did you do this time?"

Ammako was at least honest enough to give a sheepish smile before admitting her crime. "I kind of covered her in ink. In my defense it was an accident, Nure-san is just taking it a little personal is all." She revealed as she continued to cower.

"Now how did you do that? You never carry more than a single ink pot with you, that's hardly enough to cover anyone." Rasu said before she got and walked to the door. This she had to see.

"What are you doing?! She's out to get me!"

Her cries fell on deaf ears as Rasu unlocked the door to show the very much ink-stained Nure. Head to to, there wasn't a spot that was clear of the black fluid. Only by seeing Nure's vibrant blue eyes was she even able to identify the figure.

Rasu couldn't help but to stifle a giggle. "Nure, you've looked better." She failed miserably to conceal the smile that appeared on her lips.

"Where is she?! You're going to tell me how you did that you little brat!"

"I told you already! I didn't mean to!" Ammako shouted from behind the desk. She quickly rose above it to stick her tongue out. "I would've been happy to tell you everything if you hadn't gotten mad!"

"Alright, alright. Both of you calm down. Ammako, come here and explain exactly what happened."

Once she was sure that Nure wasn't going to do anything, the young girl begrudgingly came out from behind the desk and moved next to Rasu.

"So, it was like this. We were training as we always do. I'm practicing with my brushstrokes when Nure starts with her punning. I'm not sure but I just kind of swiped my brush in her direction and bam, she's covered in ink!" she explained as best she could.

"You call that an explanation?!"

"It's what happened!"

The two continued to bicker, Nure past the point of caring about the ink she was dripping to the floor. Rasu remained amused though, seeing as there wasn't really any harm that was done and Ammako did say it was an accident. It still didn't answer what happened however. She decided to take a closer look at the ink splattered Nure. Well, splattered wasn't the right word. The ink itself was spread too well to be labeled as splatter. It was a nice even spread and covered everywhere, almost as if she had been dipped into a tub of ink. Now that was interesting.

"Nure, you should really go wash up. You're getting ink everywhere." Rasu pointed out.

Seeing that justice wasn't about to be done, Nure sighed in defeat and skulked off to get cleaned up. Before she was out the door she turned to glare at Ammako. "This isn't over." she promised as she shut the door.

Ammako felt a shiver go down her spine as the words reached her ears. She couldn't help but wonder what form of revenge the older Okami would rain down on her. For the moment she was safe, but for how long?

' _I better keep an eye open for a while. No way is she going to let this go anytime soon.'_

What was frustrating for the girl is that she was telling the truth. One second she made an off hand gesture with her brush, the next Nure was covered in ink. Of course now she had to prove it. It was going to be hard as she had to figure out how she did what she did. That would be for later though as she noticed her mother giving her that look.

"So, anything to add?" Rasu questioned.

"Not really. I don't even know what I did to do that."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll figure it out. You have that look in your eye." Rasu said as she sat back down at her desk and gestured for Ammako to take a seat. The girl did so with little hesitation. As strict as her mother could be at times, she was never too hard on her about anything. She didn't place high expectations on her and was more than happy to see her carve her own path so long as she didn't cause too much trouble. Which is why she knew that she wasn't in trouble. So she was curious as to why her mother wanted her here right now. Not that she had to wait long, as soon as she sat down her mother started talking.

"I'm not going to berate you for this as I'm sure Nure isn't going to let this incident slide no matter what I do. So you'll probably have to get another set of eyes on the back of your head. No, I wanted to talk to you about how school is going. With everything that's been going on you and I haven't had much time to just talk."

Ammako thought back and realized that it had been a while since the two just sat down and chat. Which was a shame as she loved speaking with her mother and hearing all about her life before Konoha. Before she could give a proper response, Ammako spied a certain item on her mother's desk.

"Is that the thing?!" she asked excitedly. "Lemme see!"

Even before Rasu could give permission the disc was already in Ammako's hands. Compared to her, the disc was quite large and she struggled to handle it. Rasu wasn't worried that she'd accidentally break it though as it was handled quite roughly and was still fine. The Okami clan head watched as her daughter inspected with glee the disc that could mean so much knowledge for the clan.

Ammako of course was lost in her own little world as she poured over the artifact, entranced by its beauty. She ran her fingers over the kanji and other carvings, lost in their craftsmanship. She turned it over to look at the mirrored side. Unfortunately she did so as the sun shone through the window and reflected the light into her eyes.

"AGH! My eyes!" she yelled as she fell to the floor and rolled around.

"Oh don't be so dramatic, it's only a little light." Rasu said as she went around to pick up the item.

"Wait, wait." Ammako said as she pulled herself up and waved her hand towards the disc. "I think I saw something on the mirror side. I saw it in the light."

Rasu flipped it over and tried to see what Ammako was talking about. She saw nothing on the mirrored surface except her reflection. She thought about what Ammako said… in the light. She turned to the window and saw the shafts of sunlight that were streaming in through the glass. The light from the sun… could it be? She placed the mirror into the sunbeam and reflected the light onto the wall. To her surprise there were markings and kanji along with some very intricate etchings of several animals lining the outside ring.

She saw a bull, tiger, cat, sheep, rooster, horse, snake, rabbit, boar, a trio of monkeys, mouse, a great dragon, and finally at the peak of the ring, a wolf. Just as with the rest of the disc, these etchings were highly detailed and gorgeous to look upon. In the center were lines of text which she unfortunately couldn't read as they were in that same old style as the others. How had she not noticed this before? Probably because she knew not to shine sunlight off a mirror into her eyes like a sensible person.

"What do those words say mama? I can't read them."

"I don't know sweetie, they're old. Really old." Rasu said a little dejectedly as she knew only one person who was able to read them and he was away for an indefinite amount of time. She put on a smile and pulled her daughter into a hug. "This is a great find honey, we'll figure out what they say. I promise."

"Yeah! I found those!" Ammako beamed with unrestrained pride. "Not you. Not Yomi-san. Me!"

Rasu snuggled with Ammako while thinking about what she was going to do about this new find. What did those words say? They must be important to be hidden as they were. Maybe she could go to the Hokage with this? Surely he could have some resource to help translate them. For now though, she wanted some quality time with her own ray of sunshine. She pulled Ammako into a tighter hug and asked, "So how was school today?"

"Eh, so so I guess. Hinata was telling me about her training with her father and it sounds like she's doesn't like it all that much. Can't say I like it at all either, because she got her eyes late she has to go straight home after class to train. We haven't hung out in forever!" Ammako lamented about the lack of Hinata in her life. She sighed. "Not that there's much I can do, I just hope that Hiashi-san isn't too rough with her. Other than that, Onigiri was able to get Naruto exhausted finally. All the guy ever eats is ramen, where does he get all that energy? Not much more than that other than Ojii-san wanting to talk to Sasuke after class. I wonder that was about."

Rasu already knew about, a bit anyway. She had heard about the mission and what had happened. Though she wasn't close with Mikoto, she couldn't help but feel for the woman. She knew what it was like to lose family. She remembered what it was like when twelve of her family went missing, later to be found as experiments to that twisted man. She wasn't there for their deaths though, not like Mikoto who lost her charge right before her eyes. Yomi must've taken Sasuke aside when he realized that the boy was troubled about his mother. Anything to help him through this rough time she figured.

"It's a personal matter sweetie, you shouldn't worry about it."

"But I wasn't worried. I was curious."

"You know what I meant. Don't pester Sasuke-san or Yomi about it, please. Yomi is only trying to help and Sasuke already has enough to deal with, he doesn't need you bothering him to sate your curiosity."

Ammako let out a defeated sigh before saying, "Fine. I won't dig into this, but in return I think I need a cherry cake."

"You just had dinner an hour ago." Rasu started and saw the begging look Ammako had taken up when cake was on the line. "Don't you even try to pull that with me young lady. That look may work with Obaa-chan, but it won't work with me."

"Oh boo…" Ammako said in defeat.

"Now, you should get going and prepare for whatever justice Nure-san has planned for you."

Ammako frowned remembering how she got to this moment in the first place. She groaned as she got up and walked to the door. Rasu could hear her mumbling about the unfairness of her predicament as she left the room and couldn't hold back a chuckle. The things that he daughter got into. As she did so many times, she once again took up the disc and studied it.

' _What other secrets do you hold?'_

* * *

 **.xVx.**

"How may I help you young man?" asked the middle aged administrative assistant.

"Umino Iruka ma'am, the Hokage asked for me."

"Ah yes, here you are. Head right on up and I'll let him know that you're on the way. Have a pleasant day."

"You too ma'am, thank you."

Iruka had just clocked out for the day when an Anbu arrived and informed him that the Hokage wished to speak with him. So here he was on his way to the village leader's office. He was a little nervous as he didn't really know why he was summoned. Maybe he did something wrong? Maybe the Hokage had decided that he was better suited back out in the field and would no longer be assisting Yomi with the class. He didn't know if he could handle that. But if that was the case there wasn't much he could do about it. Orders were orders.

He soon reached the Hokage's door and knocked. A muffled yell allowing him entry. Iruka entered and saw the Hokage in his usual chair with his hat off as he was looking through some paperwork. The teenage ninja strode forward and took a seat without any prompting from the older man. A few seconds passed before the Hokage lay the paper he had been going over down and looked at Iruka with a smile.

"Thank you for arriving in a timely manner Iruka-san. I have an important matter I would like you to oversee if you're not too busy."

"I don't have anything to do for now Hokage-sama. I have a dinner arrangement with Naruto in about an hour but I'm free until then." Iruka informed Hiruzen.

"Excellent. It's so nice to see you bonding with the boy Iruka. I had my concerns after your… how to say… initial objections after realizing he was in Yomi-san's class."

Iruka gave a sheepish smile at that. "What can I say, he grew on me."

"That's good to hear. This will be a quick assignment and shouldn't take too long." Hiruzen pulled out a thin file and handed it to Iruka. "I'm expecting a new addition to the village sometime soon and I want you to meet them at the gate and escort them to the shrine in the park."

"Me Hokage-sama?"

"You've got a kind face and that's what I want our newest village member to see. I want them the feel welcome and you can achieve that better than most in the village right now. Pay is D-rank but I'm sure you won't mind this one, the file has everything you need to know."

"Hai Hokage-sama. I'll see it done."

"Thank you Iruka-san. If that'll be all, you're dismissed." the Hokage said as he got back to his paperwork.

Iruka bowed before he turned and left the office. He wondered what the Hokage meant by he wouldn't mind this assignment. It didn't seem like there was much to it. No sense wondering about it he thought as he opened up the file to see who it was that he would be meeting. Inside was a copy of the basic immigration paper along with a photo. He didn't look into the paperwork as it wasn't all that relevant right now, what he needed was the picture. He took it and studied it closely. What he saw a young woman and noticed that the date was from a few years ago. Well that was annoying. She could very well have changed her appearance in all that time, especially considering how young she looked in the photo. Guess he was going to have to pay close attention to anyone entering the village for the next little bit. Hopefully she didn't take too long to arrive, he really didn't want to upset Naruto by being late to Ichiraku's.

Iruka thought about his time with the boy. He wasn't lying when he told the Hokage that the boy grew on him. After he got ever his biasness towards Naruto he saw that the two had a lot in common and could sympathize with his need for attention. He thought back to his younger years and noted that he rose a lot of hell himself at that age. Maybe he could help Naruto grow out of that phase quicker, though given what he had seen of Naruto, he didn't hold high hopes for that idea. Wouldn't stop him from trying however as he knew that Naruto could easily turn down a darker path without guidance.

His thoughts on the matter had to be put on hold though as he arrived at the village gates. He went to the guards to see if anyone had arrived.

"Hey guys, the Hokage sent me to escort a new arrival, just checking to see if she had arrived yet."

"Sorry man, wouldn't know. We just got here a few minutes ago and no one's been by yet."

"That's fine, I'll wait."

And so he waited. He chatted a bit with the guards, something they seemed to enjoy. Guard duty was a dull position despite how important it was and anything to really alleviate that boredom was welcome in short doses. It wasn't long before they had to cut the chatter though as some travelers arrived and took the guards attention to check them in. Iruka searched their faces trying to see if his charge was among them to no avail. So he hung back and kept an eye out.

Minutes passed and he had yet to see the arrival of the lady. He looked down at his watch and saw that a lot of time had passed. If she didn't show soon he was going to miss dinner with Naruto. He weighed his options and decided on a course of action. He waited a little bit more until the guards finished up with their last check-ins before speaking with them.

"Hey, I gotta go and inform someone that I have an assignment to finish and can't join them for dinner real quick. Can you guys keep an eye out for this person here and let her know that I'll be back to escort her in a little bit?"

"Sure Iruka, no problem." one of the guards said.

"Thanks." Iruka said as he took off. He had to hurry if he wanted adequate time to explain things to Naruto and make it back hopefully before the new member arrived.

A few minutes later he rounded a corner and saw Ichiraku's. As he neared he could hear Naruto's loud voice speak.

' _He's talking with someone? Least he found someone to pass the time with. Should mean he won't be too upset with me.'_

"And so I say to the guy _"I had nothing to with all those noodles. Ramen is sacred and I wouldn't do anything to ruin it."_ Still didn't believe me though. Some people just don't listen to reason, you know what I mean?" Naruto's voice carried outside the stand.

Iruka heard a melodious laugh emanate from behind the curtains in response to the end of Naruto's tale marking the listener as female. Curiosity thoroughly peaked, Iruka entered the shop. First thing he noticed was the already large pile of bowls in front of Naruto. Next was the back of the woman sitting next to him. He took note of the clothing she was wearing. A light blue hood that draped around her shoulders with a necklace of large blue beads around her neck. Her robe like dress was a deep royal purple that she wrapped a sash of rich yellow. He stopped looking at that point as his gaze had started to travel further south than was gentlemanly. He let out a cough to get Naruto's attention and the boy was quick to turn.

"Iruka-sensei! You're early!"

"Yeah, but I'm only here because I have to tell you that I can't stay. I've got an assignment to do."

Naruto looked a little saddened to hear that, but as always with the boy he got over it fairly quickly. "I understand. But before you take off, I want you to meet my new friend! She just arrived and was hungry so I thought I'd show her the best food in the village." He gestured towards the woman.

Iruka turned to her and immediately recognized her face from the photo he had just been looking at just minutes ago though it was obvious that she wasn't a little girl anymore. His breath caught in his throat as he gazed at the beauty that sat before him. Her hair was cut short and her bangs hung in front of her right eye giving her a mysterious look that was incredibly appealing. This only made her left eye all the more attractive as it was the only one to look at. He noticed the memorable mole that sat below it, a perfect match to her photo. Once again he strained not to look further down at her abundant… assets.

She smiled as he gave a quick bow, keeping his eyes glued to the ground, afraid to look up for… reasons. If she noticed his cheeks flush she said nothing as she introduced herself. "Hi, Naruto has told me a bit about you. It's a pleasure. I'm Rao, it's so nice to meet you."

* * *

 **.xVIx.**

Sasuke found himself frustrated, a state he rarely found himself in given his talents. His brother would often tell him that frustration was normal to feel and it was only now that he understood.

"I'm not getting this!" he all but shouted as he slammed his hand to the ground. All he got for his outrage was ink on his hand. He sighed in defeat as he grabbed his towel and wiped it off.

"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself Sasuke-san, our arts are difficult to use for those not of Okami or Pon blood. You're doing fairly well if that's of consolation." Yomi advised.

Sasuke had been showing up to the Okami compound for a few days now and was struggling with the basics of the Okami's unique methods. Currently he was trying to just use their chakra plain.

"Maybe it will help if you start from the top. Explain what it is you're trying to do." Yomi suggested.

Sasuke took a deep breath while he recited what he had been taught so far. "Okami burashijutsu are used by utilizing a plain of chakra called chakra parchment. The parchment is meant to be used as a surface to apply the chakra ink to. When the plain is dismissed the effects of the jutsu take hold and affect reality. What the effect is depends on the brushstrokes used as well as the intent of the user." Sasuke paused as he looked down at his brush and groaned. "I don't understand why it's not working. I watched as you did the motions. I focused on fixing the necklace. I applied the ink. I released the plain. It's still not working!"

"Sasuke-san, you've been at this for four days, don't be surprised if you haven't gotten it yet. Rasu took nearly two weeks to successfully even make the plain happen."

"But I got it to materialize after a few hours!"

"Don't compare your successes to that of others Sasuke-san, that's a good way to discourage any future endeavors. Even if you are a prodigy you still have limits just like the rest of us. You may have gotten the parchment to show, but you still haven't grasped what it is that you're trying to do. It's not your technique, it's your mentality. You're trying to force this when you should be letting it flow."

"Has Ammako-san been able to fix or replace anything with this yet?"

Yomi sighed at the boy's question. Every time Sasuke achieved or failed to achieve something as the case was, he often asked what Ammako had been able to do. Still comparing his successes and failures with hers.

"I already told you, Ammako's training is not the issue here. You're the one that wants to fix your mother's necklace so it is your training that we're focusing on."

"But maybe she-"

"Sasuke-san. Take a breath. Calm down. Just breathe for a moment. Let your thoughts go and try to remember why you've chosen to learn this technique. Think about how happy your mother will be to see that you've repaired the pendant all by yourself. Remember why you're doing this." Yomi said encouragingly. "Try again."

Sasuke took a deep breath and focused. He thought about how upset his mother was, not just about the necklace but also of her loss. He thought about when she told him about how she got the item. She had told him that it was the first gift that his father had gotten her shortly after he began courting her. It was a symbol of his love to her and meant a lot. Even if she rarely wore around her neck, she more often than not kept it on her even if in a pocket or pouch. Carrying it comforted her when times were rough and she needed a reminder of what was important to her.

With a final surge of will he swept his brush with all the intent that he could muster. To his shock, the ink adhered to the plane of chakra for just a moment before transferring to the necklace. He held his breath for what felt like forever as the ink coalesced around the pendant only to groan as it dissipated. He threw his brush to the ground as he stood in frustration and kicked at the dirt.

"ARHG! This isn't working!" he yelled as he pulled his hair. "I don't understand!"

"No, don't be discouraged Sasuke. This is a good step. This happens." Yomi leaned over and picked up the brush and handed it back to Sasuke, who took it begrudgingly. "You're making progress, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. You're actually doing exceedingly well. It's not too often that I see someone get this far as quickly as you have. Just give it time."

"But what if this is one of those things that Rejuvenation can't fix?"

"If that was the case the ink would never even form around the necklace. Since it did it can be restored, you only need to keep at it." It seemed as if he were about to say something else, but an attendant chose that moment to arrive.

"Yomi-dono, Rasu-sama is requesting your assistance with a matter most urgent. She asks that you come as soon as you can." said the attendant before returning to their other duties.

"Looks like we're done for the day. You should get home before your family starts to worry. I'll see you in class tomorrow." Yomi stood and walked towards the main house. Before he went in, he turned to Sasuke and said, "You did well today, rest up and we'll try again later. Have a pleasant rest of your evening Sasuke-san."

Sasuke sat for a few moments before he got up, packed up his things, and then left. Once he exited the gates of the Okami compound he paused and looked towards where his home was. Making a decision, he turned away and started walking. He wasn't going home until he figured this out.

He strode through the village, passing by many villagers who were finishing up their day as the light started to fade. Some shops were closing up while others were just starting to get busy. Night descended onto the village and in the low light not many noticed the Uchiha boy wander off on his own. He preferred it that way. Too many often doted on him because of his status and he found it annoying to no end. Most of all, it was the expectations. Everyone expected him to be just as good as his brother.

It wasn't even until recently that his father actually started to pay attention to him and even that was short lived. Maybe once his father saw that he didn't have the potential that Itachi had he lost interest. He would be lying if he didn't say that a lot of his frustration this was because he just wanted to show his father what he was capable of. Learning this technique would… would what? He didn't really know, it just felt like something people would notice. He didn't know how many people outside the Okami clan knew their techniques, but it couldn't be all that big a number he figured.

Sure, he didn't exactly long after the fabled ink abilities before as he thought that the Okami's kept them clan secrets. But once Yomi-sensei made the offer of teaching him Rejuvenation, something clicked. An opportunity to learn… he didn't exactly know what learning this meant, but it had to be pretty big. Enough to gain his father's recognition.

He continued thinking this as he made his way into one of the numerous parks that were dotted around Konoha and made his way to a spot near a creek. This particular spot was one of his favorites in the entire village. Something about the trees and the flowing water he found soothing. He couldn't think of a better spot to set up and continue. Yomi-sensei told him that he had done well, he just had to push until he got it.

He found a flat spot and cleared it of leaves, laid down his mother's necklace and took out his brush supplies. Once his set up was done he took a few deep breaths before taking up his brush once more. He did everything he did before. He once again got the ink to disperse and reappear on the necklace only for it to dissipate again. So he tried again. It failed.

' _Again.'_

' _Again.'_

' _Again.'_

' _Again.'_

He lost track of how many times he perform the jutsu only to see it fail time and time again. A few times he was right back to where he started and it failed to even form at all. Other times the inky mist would last for several seconds before failing. He started to feel himself become somewhat numb to the rising and falling sense of hope that he felt himself go through every time that occurred. It wasn't enough to stop him.

' _Again.'_

' _Again.'_

' _Again.'_

' _Again.'_

Another failed casting. He tried to perform another but found that his arm wouldn't respond. He guessed that was as a sign that he should take a break. He leaned back and looked up into the sky and found it that the sun had set and the stars were out.

Sasuke leaned back up and took stock of what he'd accomplished so far. Didn't take long as he had done absolute bupkis. Well, he did do one thing, he ran through his ink. He looked into his well and saw that it was practically dry, only a few measly drops left.

He probably would have slammed his fist to the ground if he didn't feel so emotionally drained. He was missing something. He did everything that Yomi-sensei had told him to do and yet nothing. He didn't know what else he could do.

He fell back to the ground and just stared at a passing cloud.

' _I thought coming here would help keep me calm and I would be able to do this. All I'm getting more of the same.'_ He continued to look up at the cloud as it slowly creeped across his vision. _'Maybe Shikamaru is on to something, this is pretty relaxing.'_

And it was. Staring at that cloud was probably the least taxing thing he had done all week. He was starting to see why the Nara boy was so hung up on it. No expectations to meet. No people to impress. No brother's to live up to. Just lying there and with nobody bothering him about how well his training was going or any other responsibilities that others expected of him. Just lie there and let everything go.

Let everything go…

Let his thoughts flow…

Flow…

Sasuke shot up, an idea forming in his mind. He thought back to what Yomi said. Was he really making it harder on himself than he needed to be doing? Change his mentality. Stop forcing it and let it flow. He took several deep breaths before he took up the last of his ink and dipped his brush in it. He summoned up his chakra parchment and was about to apply his ink one last time when he hesitated. Sasuke lifted his head and looked back up at that cloud he had been staring at and saw that it had begun to vanish. He took his doubts, his frustration, even his desire to be acknowledged by his father, and let it all go with the cloud. He let them all flow as he watched the cloud until it finally dissolved into the sky. Once it did he swept his brush across the floating plane and watched the ink form once again over the broken piece of jewelry.

He didn't hold his breath in anticipation this time and simply watched as the ink hung around for one second, two seconds, three seconds. At four seconds the ink condensed and solidified. Sasuke wasn't sure how to react, the ink didn't disperse. He was almost afraid to lean in closer and look. Almost. He took the few steps he needed to look down.

There lay his mother's necklace, looking as it did the last time he saw it whole. He did it. He felt a drop of moisture form in the corner of his eye as he bent over and picked it up. He did it. All by himself, he managed to accomplish this feat. Sure he could have had his sensei repair it for him but in his wisdom had felt it better for the boy to do it himself. And he did.

' _I need to show mom!'_

Forgetting his brush and empty ink well, Sasuke took off necklace in hand, his exhaustion forgotten. He once again passed through the village streets, this time they were mostly empty with only the odd person here and there. He felt the exhilaration of success pushing him past his fatigue and kept him running. The sooner he got home and showed his mother the sooner things would go back to the way they were. Well, moderately at least. All he wanted was to see his mother smile again.

Running through the village at night was a new sensation to him, things looked different in the dark and the smells were different. The smell of people and food was beginning to fade and the smell of burning wood permeated the air as some homes had wood stoves going. It was… pleasant. Though he thought that some of those people should use less wood, the air was starting to get thick with smoke and was getting uncomfortably warm.

It was only when the smoke thickened and the air felt hot that he started to feel that something was wrong. He started to notice an eerie orange glow start to show in the direction he was headed. He quickened his pace, something his body did not enjoy as he was already moving pretty quick. His legs burned in protest but he pushed forward.

' _Let me be wrong, please let me be wrong.'_

Sasuke felt a sense of dread begin to grow within him as he drew nearer to the Uchiha district. He rushed around a corner and had all hope dashed. In front of him was the Uchiha compound. And it was burning.

* * *

 **And Scene!**

First off, reviews!

 **jablanco** \- You know, I should really stop commenting on these short reviews. Would save me a lot of time.

 **Aguion12** \- What ever happened to Aguions 1-11? I get so few reviews that I have no problems answering what I can, I want to help people understand my story to the best of my ability without giving away too much plot. Canonically, both Fugaku and Hiashi aren't terrible fathers per se, just stoic to a fault. Fugaku in the anime is actually very proud of Sasuke, he just doesn't show it. That's the father I want to show here. Hiashi I'm taking a few more liberties with, largely because his own personal history has changed as his wife and brother are still around. But I imagine Hiashi still has much to overcome in future endeavors. I don't really like how some writers justify bashing characters as they do, just shows lazy writing. A good villain needs to be relatable, making them assholes is also lazy writing.

 **Zoran Dawn-Eclipse** \- You change your name a lot, don't you? Personally I feel that this puzzle isn't as well thought out as you seem to be giving me credit for. Again, that's just me. I don't think her eyes gained all that much. Hinata on the other hand... If you consider how important her lineage is, you'd think she would have played a bigger role in things. One can dream. Naruto always being in trouble is a given don't you think?

 **Dragon Man 180** \- I gotta tiptoe around your statements a lot you know. You might not always get the correct idea on what I'm doing, but get into the ballpark of asking a question that is loaded with spoiler potential. I don't think Hiashi is out to crush anything, he just wants to see his daughter safe, even if that means he has to be a little... harsh. And what did Naruto do indeed. Something I must be clear on though is that I'm not doing OP characters in this story, so no angry sun goddess. Besides, who says that when the time comes that Hinata will need Ammako to stand up for her?

Well, that takes care of that. Well, doesn't look like I have any big announcements this time around or I just can't remember what it is that I wanted to talk about, so until next time, please review and have a wonderful day.

 **EDIT: April 18, 2018**

So after letting my mind rest, I remembered what it was that I wanted to say here. So this here is the end of the prologue years as it were and next chapter officially puts us at the pilot. So I guess that means this ending is a bit of a cliff hanger, this is intentional as I plan to reveal what happened as the story pans out. Oh man you guys, I have been waiting to get to this point for ages, you have no idea how excited I am. Look forward to next chapter, if all goes well with the writing things should be... interesting.


	12. Welcome to the White Charade

Whew, we made it people! Finally past all the exposition and backstory crap! So I'm going to be honest here, a lot of my enthusiasm for the chapter waned the further into I got. This is largely because of how close it follows the first episode of the series. I'll leave it up to you guys how to feel about that. I'm just glad that I managed to get it typed out in a week.

As usual, see you at the bottom!

* * *

 **Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Welcome to the White Charade**

* * *

 **.xIx.**

 _Fire…_

 _Fire everywhere…_

 _Ragged breaths escaped the boy's mouth as he rushed through the burning buildings, desperately trying to find someone, anyone. All he found were bodies, some burned, some burning, all with their eyes gouged out. He tried to find his way to his home, but found that with the fire and destruction the compound was next to unrecognizable. The boy tried to call out but the smoky air prevented him from doing such. Still, he tried. He tried to call for his father, his brother, his mother. Through bouts of coughing he would call out feebly._

 _No one heard._

 _Eventually he had to stop making his way through the compound as the flames became too intense for him. He attempted to shield his face from the heat only to have his hands and arms blister. The fire began to roar around him as he fell to his knees. Looking up he saw the flames begin to condense into a monstrous shape. Fiery red eyes looked down on him as a ghastly smile spread and the demonic figure laughed wickedly in triumph._

" _The Uchiha have fallen! And now you will join them, Sasuke!"_

" _Sasuke!"_

" _Sasuke?!"_

"Sasuke!?"

The Uchiha boy opened his weary eyes and looked up at the face of his sensei. Sasuke rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes as he leaned into a sitting position.

' _That dream again…'_

"Are you back with us Uchiha-san?" asked the aged teacher. Sasuke gave a curt nod in response. "Good, wouldn't want you missing out on this announcement. With that in mind, Shikamaru? Are you with us as well?"

Rather than give a verbal answer the Nara boy lifted his hand for a second but didn't raise his head. To be expected really. How he got away with napping in class Sasuke didn't know. Granted he himself didn't fall asleep in class often, he must have trained a little too long last night.

"Alright, wouldn't want either of you to miss this announcement. As you all know, tomorrow is the final test to see if everything I've been teaching you for the past six years has stuck. As a reminder, you will be expected to pass a written test followed by your practical test. For the practical you'll have to be able to perform the three basic jutsu of transformation, substitution, and clones. Sai, can I trust that you'll inform Naruto of these requirements?"

"Hai, as soon as Iruka-sensei is finished with him." replied the pale boy.

"Very well. Now, if there are no further questions, you're all free to spend the rest of the day however you want, though I implore each of you to freshen up on your studies and training because tomorrow is a big day for all of us. Sasuke, a word after the bell if you would."

Students began to stream out of class as the bell rang. Sasuke remained in his seat and looked out the window until it was just him and Yomi-sensei. He knew what was coming. He knew as soon as he awoke from his slumber. Yomi walked over to the boy and took a seat in front of him.

"How are things going Sasuke?"

"Fine."

"I think we both know that's not true. Not entirely. You didn't use to fall asleep in class this often."

"I was up late training. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing Sasuke. If you need someone to talk I'm always here."

"I don't need to talk to anyone, let alone you Sensei."

Yomi frowned at the response. He had been hoping that the boy would open up to him, but alas he has remained distant. He let out a sigh. Yomi knew this would be the response but still he had hoped. "Alright. I won't push, just know that I'm here if you ever need to talk."

Sasuke didn't say anything as he stood and left the room leaving Yomi behind. He started thinking about the dream he had. It was always the same up until the end, the end was different every time. Last time he saw his mother being devoured by the fiery demon while she cried for him to save her. The time before that the demon morphed into a dragon and engulfed the rest of the village in flames. Never was he able to do anything to stop it.

Sasuke exited through the main doors and followed the familiar path he usually took to get home. It didn't take him long as thankfully his followers had to worry about finals tomorrow so didn't have time to bother him. Sasuke couldn't wait for tomorrow as he would finally be rid of most of the girls that were crushing on him. Sure, he was aware that he was going to be saddled with one of them as the team makeup often consisted of two boys and one girl. He strongly hoped that he would get a rare case of three boys, but wasn't holding his breath. Those were rare for a reason. If anything, he hoped that he at least got someone who wasn't one of his fangirls. He could stand it if it were Ammako or Hinata, those two didn't seem all that interested in him and took their training seriously. Here's to hoping.

He paused before he walked through the charred gates of the Uchiha compound. It didn't bother him so much to see those gates anymore, but he still felt that twinge of sadness every time he walked passed them. The years had worn away the worst of the damage wrought by the fire, but it was obvious that the scars remained. Many of the buildings were in ruin, shadows of their former selves, empty of any splendor they once held. He marched through the hollow district, focusing on his coming finals rather than the painful memories surrounding him.

Every now and then he would pass by a damaged building that had numerous empty ink wells surrounded by ink stains. Failed attempts to bring a little bit back of what was lost. There was a reason he didn't want to speak with Yomi-sensei after all.

He arrived at his home, a building built in what was once an empty plot meant to be turned into a garden. As always, he looked at the front door with disdain before entering. It wasn't home, no matter what everyone tried to tell him. His home was two blocks away, a charred ruin unfit for anything to live in. Shaking himself free of his thoughts, he entered. He took off his shoes and made his way to the living where he fell onto the couch. He pulled out a notebook and looked at his notes for the written portion of his finals. He didn't get to be the top of the class by skimping on his studying after all. Before he could really get into it though, he was distracted.

"Sasuke, come give me a hand with this." a voice called out.

Sasuke sighed and stood. "Coming Aniki."

* * *

 **.xIIx.**

"You're not going home till you've cleaned off every single drop of paint." Iruka told Naruto as he watched him clean his graffiti off of the Hokage faces.

Naruto grumbled in annoyance as he scrubbed. He didn't understand why they were making him do this. Wouldn't it have been quicker to have one of the genin teams clean this up? He was clearly missing the point, but he continued.

"Come on! Sai's waiting for me! Can't I do this after the exam tomorrow?"

"No you can't. You don't get to decide when you go through your punishment Naruto. Be happy that this is all you have to do. Normally we would make vandals clean up their mess as well as pay a fine."

Naruto huffed as he dipped his brush into his bucket of soapy water. He had almost gotten away, why was it that Iruka-sensei could always find him? He managed to get away from those other chunins, so why was it that his teacher seemed to be able to track him down where ever he hid? Even the Uchiha police couldn't catch him when he set his mind to it. He had to find out his secret.

"How are you always able to find me Sensei?" he asked as he focused on a troublesome patch of paint.

"You can't trick a trickster Naruto. Don't be fooled at how I am now, I used to be just as bad as you at your age. I know what you're thinking because I pulled the same crap that you do. You'd have to wake up pretty early to pull one over me." Iruka replied.

"If you were like me, then why don't you let me get away with anything huh?"

"Because I grew up and realized that my pranks aren't the way to get people to acknowledge me. I know you're after the same thing. You need to show the people that you're more than a troublemaker."

"If it's that simple, then why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Would you have listened? I'm only saying it now because you asked. I know some people seem like they deserve some kind of punishment for how they act, but who are you punishing by defacing our monument? There are people who rely on this mountain as a source of security and if you damage it they lose some hope."

Naruto let that sink and started to show a little regret. "Oh. I didn't think about that." In retrospect, it made sense. Hokage Rock was meant to show the villagers that their Hokages, past and present, would always be there to watch over them. How did it look to them when the shinobi forces allowed such vandalism to happen.

"Why would you even do this Naruto? I thought you looked up to the Hokages. You want to be Hokage someday don't you?"

Naruto thought about that for a moment. "Because I want to be greater than all of them. I don't know, this just seemed like a way to show people that I can be just as good as them, maybe even better. The best of the best, you know." He thought back to his first year at the academy, the drawing that he drew. "I just want people to stop looking at me the way they do. Like I did something horrible to them or something."

Iruka stared down at the boy with a saddened look. "I understand that Naruto, more than you'll ever know. But this isn't the way to go about it. It won't be easy and you only make it more difficult for yourself by wrecking things. That'll only make people dislike you more. What is Mrs. Orange always telling you? You need to show people that you're better than their thoughts of you."

"But that's so hard!"

"And it always will be. Those people don't know you like I do, they don't understand how their remarks and glares make you feel. You have to be the better person or they'll only ever see the troublemaker and not the wonderful person I know you are."

"But why do they hate me? I never did anything to them before."

Iruka hesitated. He couldn't tell Naruto, even if there wasn't a law in place preventing him from doing so. It would crush him. He couldn't bring himself to lie either, so he remained quiet.

"You know, don't you Sensei?" for once reading the mood and coming to a conclusion.

"I can't say. That's all I allowed to offer I'm afraid." Iruka lamented.

Naruto's face fell as he felt slightly betrayed at Iruka's words. So it was true, there was a reason. A reason that nobody was telling him.

"Look Naruto. I'm sorry that I can't say anything, but my hands are tied. I'm not going to ask you to understand, but please be patient. If you can pass tomorrow's exam then you'll be a ninja and be privy to certain information."

It took a second for Naruto to catch on. "You mean like why everyone hates me?"

"Perhaps. I couldn't say. That's up to the Hokage." Iruka saw Naruto wasn't convinced. He hated seeing him like this. "Naruto?"

"What now Sensei?" Naruto asked a little bitterly.

"Well, I was just thinking. Maybe after you clean this all up I can take you out for some ramen. The good stuff. What do you think?"

Naruto looked up at Iruka. "Trying to buy me off with ramen Sensei?"

Iruka smiled. "Maybe a little."

"Sounds like motivation. This would be faster if I had some help you know." he replied a smile appearing.

"Hey, you made this mess, not me."

Naruto groaned.

…

The bowl clattered on the counter top. Naruto sighed heavily as he finished off his third bowl of ramen. He perked up when a fourth appeared. "I should make you feel guilty more often if I get this kind of treatment." he said as he began digging into it.

"Hey now, that's not very fair Naruto. You know I can only afford to feed you once a week." Iruka responded.

"Maybe if you took that Jonin position the Hokage has been offering you."

"Hey, how do you know about that?"

"I have my ways. Didn't you say that you knew all my tricks?" Naruto said coyly around his ramen.

"We'll come back to that. I have my reasons and that's all I'm saying on the matter." Iruka said while thinking how he could tell the Hokage about this.

Naruto seemed content with that and continued to eat his meal. The two sat in silence as they both ate. After a bit Iruka decided to ask the boy something he had been wondering about for a while.

"Hey Naruto. Has Rao said anything about me?"

"Huh? I don't think so. I wouldn't really know, she's usually talking about shrine stuff so I zone out most of the time. That and I haven't seen her in the past couple days, she told me she was going to go on a trip some place, I don't remember where. Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, no reason." Iruka said hastily, trying to hide the redness on his cheeks. He had to change the subject. "So, think you're ready for the exam tomorrow?"

"Why are you asking Sensei? You saw my clone earlier. How am I supposed to figure that out overnight? I haven't been able to get the hang of it since you guys taught it to us. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Iruka thought about that. It was true that Naruto struggled with the clone jutsu more than the others he learned. The illusionary copy he made of himself earlier looked sickly and pale. He had honestly never seen anything like it. He had a suspicion at the cause, but he couldn't confirm as no one except Jiraiya-sama was allowed to look at the seal on Naruto. But he couldn't say anything. Maybe he could take this to the Hokage. But even then, there was simply no telling why the boy had trouble with it, his technique was near flawless. He lacked the practiced motions that experience would bring, but other than that he performed it properly. The results said otherwise.

Iruka initially thought that it was just Naruto screwing around, but when it got to be this close to exams and he was showing worry over not being able to perform it, the chunin had to change his thinking on it. Even when the class was performing better than all the other classes in all areas he still struggled with this one. He didn't look forward to it if he had to turn down Naruto's promotion to genin if he failed the test tomorrow.

"I'm not sure Naruto. I'm positive things will work out though."

"If you say so." Naruto didn't look convinced.

Things didn't pick up from there. So when all the ramen had been finished, Iruka did the only thing he could do right now and offered to walk Naruto home.

* * *

 **.xIIIx.**

Mizuki prowled the village streets with a self-satisfied smirk as the sun was beginning to set over the village. He still didn't believe that no one noticed that the Fox had an overabundance of Yang chakra that prevented it from forming a clone. How they missed that one he would never know, especially that decrepit old fool who taught the class. Must be going senile in his old age to not notice that. He didn't understand why neither of those two old fools saw the threat of teaching the Fox to become a better killer could mean. Even most of his plans to sabotage the Fox's training were thwarted by that bastard Onigiri. Still, so long as no one discovered the Fox's issues by tomorrow then it would fail. The silver haired chunin chuckled to himself.

Things were going his way. The Fox would fail to become a ninja. Iruka still thought that they were friends and he could covertly make him miserable. His fiancée was ignorant of his numerous dalliances while she away on missions. He couldn't believe that everything was working out so perfectly. Just went to show how much better he was. Shame he wouldn't be around to see this village fall. He couldn't wait for tomorrow to arrive quickly enough. For that was when all his planning would come to fruition and he could finally leave this forsaken pit.

' _Orochimaru-sama will be so pleased with me. Perhaps he'll allow me to join him in immorality. I need to celebrate, I won't be able to once I take the scroll and kill that monster.'_

Once he thought of that, he went back to seeking out a bar. He could always find some civilian girl who was willing to spend a night with one of the village's elite shinobi at one. It was just a matter of finding one dumb enough to believe his lies of grandeur. He didn't have to worry about other ninja as most of them either went to the shinobi bar or drank at home. He couldn't believe it when he discovered that. It made his cheating all the easier.

He spied a place that he had been to several times. The girls here were often of the ditzy sort and more often than not fell for his charms. He entered with a swagger and went straight to the counter. He noticed that they had a new bartender. He frowned at that. The guy that was usually there often helped him out with picking up women, for a price of course. Looked like he was going to be on his own tonight as he wasn't sure he could bribe this guy. Not that it mattered, he picked up women before on his own, it was just easier with a wingman.

He took a seat and ordered a drink and just watched. Mizuki took note of every woman that entered the bar. He avoided groups, it was hard to convince a single girl to part from the rest of her friends. He simply ignored older women, too crafty and wrinkly for his tastes. So distracted he was with the women entering that he failed to notice the ones that were already in the bar. He felt a pat on his shoulder and he turned. To his surprise he saw a wickedly attractive woman before him.

"Hey handsome. What brings you here?" she asked through a smile that would melt any man's heart. Too bad for her his was cold to the core. Mizuki smiled back.

"Oh, you know. Looking for some company after a long day at work."

"Is that so? Buy a girl a drink and tell me all about it?" she asked taking a seat next to him.

'Of course. Bartender! A drink for the lady." Mizuki sipped from his own drink and took in what he saw before him. The lady was wearing a dress tight enough and showed enough skin that it didn't leave much to the imagination. His eyes made their way up her curvaceous body and rested momentarily on her breast. After that he took in the rest of her. Bright orange hair that covered half of her face seductively, eyes that hinted of things to come, and a mouth with lips full enough to die for.

Her drink arrived and he watched as she sucked on the straw, her eyes on his as she did so. "So what brings a lovely lady like yourself to a dive like this?"

"Oh, you know, looking for company. Haven't found anyone yet."

"Maybe you haven't met the right guy?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where I could find the right guy would you." she said kneeling in closer.

"Oh, I think I can name someone. He doesn't go out with just anyone though. He needs to know first what the girl is after."

"Oh, well, if you can pass this along." She brought her lips to his ear and whispered what she was after to Mizuki. His face flushed as his heartbeat quickened. Jackpot. "And that's just the first round. So, you think he'll be interested?"

Mizuki slammed a handful of ryō's onto the counter. "Keep the change." He stood with the woman and followed her outside. "So, your place or mine?" he asked.

"Mmm… let's go to your place. Mine is quite far and I would prefer to start sooner rather than later." she purred.

Before long the two were entering Mizuki's place. It wasn't until they entered that Mizuki cursed letting his groin do the thinking. He left out a lot of incriminating items in his kitchen, but he couldn't pass his chance with this woman up. He would just steer her to the bedroom and keep her busy enough until he had time to clean up. Once she was in he closed the door and locked up. Turning around he saw that she was already seated on his couch and looking at him with hunger in her eyes. Smiling, he confidently strode to her and sat down.

"So, where do we start?" he asked.

"I was thinking with this." she said as she pulled him to her and placed her lips on his. He was surprised at first but quickly got into it. He felt her tongue enter his mouth and he groaned in pleasure. He still couldn't believe his luck, to have this woman with him along with everything else, Kami must be smiling down on him.

He started to lean more into the kiss and attempted to pusher her beneath him. To his surprise she pushed back until he was the one underneath her and she straddled his crotch. She leaned back to catch her breath and placed a hand on his chest. Her other she rose to her mouth where licked her index finger seductively. Mizuki tried to lean up so that he could kiss her again but she pushed him back down. She giggled at his confused look before she leaned back down and slammed her lips back to his. Once again he felt her tongue push past his lips and touch his own.

He started to twirl his tongue around hers in response but hesitated when he began to feel something weird. The sensation spread across his tongue and started to go down his throat. He tried to push her off him but she held tight, keeping her lips against his even when he started to struggle. The feeling began to tingle as it spread further rapidly through his body. He felt his limbs start to go numb and unresponsive and he started to panic. Did she just poison him?

After about a minute of this she finally leaned back and checked to make sure he wasn't going to move. She stood and walked out of his field of vision as even his eyes wouldn't respond to his commands, leaving him looking up at his ceiling. He heard her moving around and could only imagine what she was up too. A few more seconds passed and she returned to look down at him. She still wore that smile she had when he met her at the bar, this time though her eye were empty of any emotion. That was the last thing he saw before blacking out.

* * *

 **.xIVx.**

Iruka arrived at the school the next morning and though he was prepared for the day, he wasn't sure he was ready emotionally. Sure, he was going to be proud to see many of the students that he had helped train for the past six years to become ninja of the village. On the other hand, it wasn't easy to have to see them off. He had gotten so used to seeing their faces every day that he didn't even think what it would be like when they finally moved on to their ninja careers. Of course, that wasn't all he was concerned about. His thoughts drifted to Naruto and his clone issue. He hoped that it was just a mental thing that the boy would be able to overcome, but he had his doubts. Time would tell.

Arriving at the classroom, Iruka noticed he was the first to show. Not too surprising, even Yomi didn't get to the school until just before class started. Onigiri and Mizuki usually didn't show until their portion of training began. But seeing as today was finals, both were expected to be here early to help administer the exam. If everything went to schedule then everything should be finished up around lunch.

So Iruka waited and prepped things for the first round of exams, the written portion. As he organized the papers the door opened and in walked Yomi. They gave their morning greetings as Yomi moved to his desk and pulled out his own paperwork. It was getting close to when the students should begin to arrive that Onigiri shambled his way into class. Why he continued with the deception of the weak old man Iruka would never know. He had asked Yomi about it once but even he didn't know.

Students began to stream into the room, all of them excited or stressed. It was a big day for them after all. Today's tests will determine whether or not they become ninja. If not, then they'd have to wait for the next round of exams, about three months from now and again three months after that. Iruka saw Naruto and Sai enter and noticed that Naruto wasn't as energetic as he usually was. If anything he looked worried and concerned. Not a good sign.

It was only after most of the students had arrived that Mizuki waltzed in. He looked a little worse for wear, usually after a hard night. He looked weary and a little confused, but other than that he seemed fine. Iruka walked up to the silver haired chunin.

"Hey buddy, looks like you had a rough night. You alright to teach?"

Mizuki blinking wearily at Iruka for a second while he registered the question. "Yeah, I'm good. I don't really remember what I did last night. I remember going to the bar, but nothing after that." He rubbed his eyes. "It doesn't feel like I drank that much, I'm just really tired and am having trouble remembering is all. Must have been one hell of a drink right?"

"Why did you choose to even go out at all? Why are you covering your eye?"

"Dunno, seemed like a good idea at the time. I think I must have fell and bruised it. Don't want to show a shiner you know? Doesn't really matter. I'm just waiting for my caffeine pills to kick in and I'll be right as rain."

Iruka shrugged his shoulders as he went back to sorting his paperwork.

It wasn't too long before the bell rang. Yomi along with the other three all stood at the front of the class. "Students, today you are all about to take your first to becoming what you have trained the past six years for. I know some of you may be stressing out about how you'll do, but rest assured, I am positive that you'll do just fine. For right now, we have the written exam. Do your best everyone."

…

Iruka was going his half of the finished exams and was quite pleased to see that nearly all of them had done fairly well and even the ones who weren't still passed. To his surprise he found Naruto's in his pile and held his breath as he graded it. He knew the boy wasn't the best when it came to anything that other than physical training, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that Naruto's test turned out alright. Sai's influence he had to guess.

He looked up at the clock and saw that lunch was about to end soon. He finished the rest of the tests and was happy to see that none failed outright, that had to be some kind of record. He'd leave that to others though as he was going to take pride in the fact that he was one of the instructors responsible for this achievement. He put the tests away and gave his result to Yomi as he prepared for the final round of exams, the jutsu tests.

It didn't take long for the students to return and be seated. Yomi stood once again and said, "I hope you all enjoyed your lunches. You're going to need the energy for this next segment. You will all be called to the room next door and will be asked to perform three jutsus. These jutsu will the henge jutsu, the kawarimi no jutsu, and the bunshin no jutsu. Should you perform all three, you will be handed a headband and officially join the ninja ranks of Konoha." He gestured at the item in his hand, a blue headband with the metal plate marked by the leaf symbol of Konohagakure. Yomi, Onigiri, and Mizuki all left the classroom to prepare while Iruka remained to call over the students.

"Ok, first up is Akimichi Choji…"

…

So it went, each student showing what they could do and nearly all passed with flying colors. A few civilian students failed to meet the standards that had been set, but they were welcome to try again in a few months. But for right now it was the point that Iruka had been dreading all day. It was Naruto's turn to perform his jutsu and he looked as worried on the outside that Iruka felt inside.

"Next we have Uzumaki Naruto. Please come on over." Iruka said.

Naruto didn't respond at first, remaining in his seat. Sai put his hand onto his shoulder and gave him a comforting smile. Though it didn't appear to lift Naruto's mood, it did get him out of his seat as he walked somberly to the door. He followed Iruka to the next room over and got into position. Standing in front of his four instructors he looked a little nervous but he shook it off as he mentally prepped himself for what was coming.

"Alright Naruto, you know what you need to do. Show us what you got." Mizuki said encouragingly.

"And don't you even think of pulling off that transformation you did yesterday!" Iruka warned. Naruto smiled sheepishly at that but let it go pretty quickly.

Naruto let out the breath he had been holding and performed the hand signs for the Henge and transformed into a perfect copy of Iruka. Iruka stood up to inspect his doppelganger. Everything was in place, including the smaller scar next to his more noticeable one on the bridge of his nose. He even held himself correctly and wore a smirk that matched his own. He jotted down a few notes before giving Naruto a passing score. He sat back down and gestured for the boy to continue.

Naruto next did the kawarimi and he did so perfectly, seamlessly replacing himself with the log that had been provided. A nodding of heads amidst the instructors showed they all passed him. It was only now that Naruto hesitated. His hands were positioned correctly but he didn't channel his chakra into it.

"Is something wrong Naruto?" Yomi asked.

"N-no, Sensei." Naruto said. _'Alright. Get it together, Naruto. You can do this.'_

A puff of smoke appeared and where a clone should have been standing there was instead a sickly looking thing that only just barely could be said to look like Naruto. The boy's face fell upon seeing the pathetic clone he had made. Looks passed between the instructors as none of them were really looking forward to what had to happen next.

"Yomi-san. Onigiri-san. Iruka." The three turned to Mizuki. "He's off, but his moves weren't bad and he did hang in there and replicate. We could cut him a break and pass him."

Onigiri was the first to respond. "I don't think that would be very responsible."

Iruka shook his head. "The other students were able to create at least three clones each. Naruto was only able to create the one. And look at it, it's pitiful. It would be irresponsible for any of us to pass him."

Naruto was shaking in anger at this point.

Yomi looked at the boy as he spoke. "I'm sorry Naruto. We won't be able to pass you at this time. You're free to try again in three months' time." he said with a frown.

…

Naruto sat outside the main doors of the school on an old swing hanging off tree. He watched all of his former classmates celebrating with their friends and family, proudly showing off their leaf headbands. It only made things hurt all the more to see Sai walk out the doors wearing his headband. Sai looked around trying to locate his friend. He finally spotted him and walked over at first with a smile which vanished as he saw that Naruto wasn't wearing a headband. With even having to guess, he already knew why.

"It was the bunshin wasn't it."

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Could you leave me alone for a while? I need some time."

Sai shook his head and knelt down. "I know how you get Naruto. I'm not leaving you alone right now. You're liable to do something rash if someone isn't around to talk you out of it."

Naruto sighed in acknowledgement. He knew Sai was right and hated to admit it. He was glad that Sai was willing to be there and sit next to him through this rough time and was about to say so when he heard the other people start talking.

"Ugh, look. It's here."

"I can't believe they even let him take the exam. What was the Hokage thinking?"

"Hmmph, I heard he failed his exam. Thank Kami for small favors. Who knows what would've happened if he was made a ninja. I mean really, he's the boy who…"

"Shhh! We're not supposed to say that out loud! Do you want to die!?"

Sai heard this as well as Naruto and tried to get ahead of what he guessed was about to happen. He turned to Naruto only to find that his friend was already gone. He looked around but saw no trace of Naruto. Not knowing what to do, Sai took Naruto's seat and hung his head in shame.

Naruto meanwhile was running through the village with tears streaming down his face. It wasn't fair. He tried his best and still failed. He had been trying for months to master the Bunshin no Jutsu and nothing he tried worked. Sai tried to help him and that failed. He asked Yomi-sensei for help and his advice did nothing. Mizuki-sensei even showed him a trick that was supposed to work and still nothing.

All of his hard work was for nothing.

He finally stopped running when he reached the foot of Hokage Rock. He wasn't sure why he ran here but he looked up at the faces carved into the rocky cliff face, bitterness in his eyes.

He didn't say anything as he continued to stare up at the village's former leaders shaking in anger. At this point he wasn't entirely sure what he sought to achieve here. After his punishment yesterday, he was weary of vandalizing the monument again in such a short amount of time. He could only imagine what Iruka-sensei would do to him if he caught Naruto defacing it again. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breathes.

He fell to his knees as more tears began to stream. What was he going to do now? His whole life he trained for this moment only to have success yanked away because of his own inability to perform a simple jutsu. Sure, he could wait the three months to try again, but then he wouldn't be able to try and get on a team with Sai. He'd be saddled with people he didn't even know and would more than likely show the same amount of resentment that everyone else did. Even if he ended up with someone other than Sai from his class, they were at least used to him and probably wouldn't be as hateful towards him.

He wasn't sure if he could overcome that. Sure, he usually didn't let things keep him down too long, but in this case it hurt more than anything he had been through before. So deep in thought he was that he didn't even notice when a figure approached him from behind.

Naruto twitched a little when the figure sat down next to him, revealing it to be Mizuki-sensei.

"Those three can be pretty tough huh." the silver haired man said.

Naruto said nothing, the sting of betrayal still fresh on his mind. How could Iruka-sensei not even give him a chance? They didn't even let him try again, surely a second chance wasn't out of the question.

"They're not against you, you know. They just have responsibilities they have to maintain."

"Then why?"

"They want you to be strong. All of their training is meant to give you the strength to serve the village. But that won't happen if they went easy on you. Iruka especially would've wanted you to pass. You two are an awful lot a like you know. He didn't have parents growing up either. Didn't have many friends either. No one was there while he was growing up. It really tore him up to have to say you failed."

Naruto turned his gaze back to the mountain. "I just really wanted to graduate, you know? Finally show everyone what I can do."

Mizuki smiled before he spoke. "Hmm, guess that settles it. Would you like to hear a secret?"

"Huh?"

Mizuki's smile grew wider.

…

Iruka was settling in for the day, feeling more than a little miserable. He couldn't really think about anything else. But what else could he do? He had let Naruto pass then the boy would have gone into the ninja world unprepared and vulnerable. He didn't want to be responsible if Naruto got hurt. He wasn't sure how Yomi or Onigiri felt, but he knew they took it pretty hard having to fail a student. Though they didn't have to emotional connection to him that Iruka did. They cared in their own way, but not the way Iruka did.

Sure, he didn't feel great having to turn down the other students, but unlike Naruto, they weren't even able to perform the Henge or Kawarimi. Naruto managed that and did so near flawlessly, only missing the years of experience to pull them off smoothly. But honestly, those kids weren't as broken up about failing as Naruto was. Naruto's desire to pass was greater than theirs' he knew as he heard them saying that they were only there because their parents wanted them to be.

It was as he contemplated all this that he was torn from his thoughts as someone started violently knocking on his door.

"Alright, alright. I hear you." he spoke loudly to his door as he approached it. Opening it he found the face of Mizuki staring back at him.

"You're needed by the Hokage. Naruto has done something terrible."

…

"Ah man, why did the first one have to a clone jutsu? Ah well, this one looks different, maybe I can do this."

…

"We need to find him immediately! There's no telling what that little demon could do with those jutsu!"

"Hokage-sama! Listen to reason. We can't leave him alive with what he knows now! Those jutsu are forbidden for a reason!"

"You moron! If we killed him we get rid of the Fox! The other villages would be on us as soon as they found out. We'd leave the village vulnerable to attack!"

"Forget the brat! What if someone gets their hands on the scroll?! This could spell the end of our village should it fall into the wrong hands!"

Hiruzen rubbed his temples in annoyance. For more reasons than what was being yelled around him right now. He couldn't believe that Naruto was able to get past with him such a simple jutsu. He would take the truth of what happened to his grave. It didn't help his headache having to hear some of the short sighted views that many of this ninja had. Even the few open minded comments he heard had some form of biasness to them. What he couldn't figure out was why Naruto would do such a thing. He had heard about his exam. He didn't think that Naruto become a criminal just because he failed his test, something else was at play here. Hiruzen just didn't know what.

The aged Hokage saw Mizuki run up with Iruka, finally completing the group of tracker nins who were in the village. He really wished that Kakashi was in the village right now. This whole situation would have been resolved in short order. As it was, he was working with he had. His only hope of settling this as quickly as possible was Iruka's uncanny ability to track down Naruto. Now that he was here, he could give the order.

"Bring Naruto to me. Alive."

"Hai." rang out the voices of ninja as they took off.

…

After nearly a half hour of searching, Iruka finally tracked down Naruto in a far off corner of the village in a heavily wooded area. He was breathing heavily as he had searched faster and harder than the others looking for the boy. He had to be the first one, he had to get answers. The others would just capture him and turn him in. Maybe even kill him. He knew the anger and bitterness that many of his fellow ninja felt towards Naruto, if they got the chance they would take it. Now that Naruto had taken a seriously dangerous item, they could justify going against the Hokage's orders to bring him in. So he had to be first.

He took a second to catch his breath as he saw that Naruto wasn't going anywhere and was too engrossed in his reading to notice him walking up. "Naruto! Turn yourself in! It's all over!"

Naruto finally noticed Iruka coming up behind and turned, a large grin on his face.

"You found me already Sensei? That's got to be a record. It usually takes you longer to track me down. I only had time to learn one jutsu."

"Learn? You've been reading through the scroll?"

"Well yeah, I thought I was supposed to. Why else would I have to take it?"

"What? Why would you think that you had to take it? That's never been a thing!"

"But Mizuki-sensei said that I wanted to graduate I had to take this scroll. He said to evade anyone who came after me. I just thought that I had learn something to pass."

"Mizuki told you to…" Iruka was in the middle of saying before he leapt to the side, barely dodging the kunai that was sent flying to his back.

"Impressive reaction time there Iruka. I was sure that I managed hide my presence." Mizuki said as he crept out of the shadows.

Naruto was frozen in place as the kunai had embedded itself not too far from his foot. He had no idea what was going on. He thought he was doing what he'd been told to.

Iruka on the other hand said nothing as he glared at the man he thought was his friend. He had just tried to kill him. If he hadn't dodged he would be dead right now. He noted that the throw was meant to hit him in a way that if it missed it wouldn't have hit Naruto. He didn't know what to think of that just yet. He needed answers.

"Why are you doing this Mizuki? Why have Naruto steal the Scroll of Sealing?"

"Why? Information really. I needed confirmation on a suspicion I had. Having the boy steal the scroll provided a reason for people to freak out and talk. And my plan worked so well. So many worrying what he would do with that knowledge that they didn't bother to stop and keep their tongues in check." Mizuki said as if it were the simplest thing to understand.

"What? I don't…" Iruka started but was interrupted.

"Oh I know you don't understand. You're not meant to. In fact, you won't be around long enough for it to bother you."

"Sensei? What's going on?"

"Naruto run, get out of here!" Iruka told the blond.

"Nothing you need to worry about Naruto-kun. Just be a good boy and stay put for a minute would you? I need to take care of this nuisance here." Mizuki responded.

"Don't listen to him Naruto. Take the scroll and run!"

"Oh please, like I need the scroll. Such a pitiful thing compared to the font of power holding it."

"Huh?" Naruto was so confused.

Even Iruka was starting to lose sense of what was going on. Mizuki had never referred to Naruto in such a way. And to dismiss the scroll as nothing. The item held knowledge of forbidden techniques so powerful that they could decide the destiny of the Elemental Nations should they fall into the wrong hands. The font of power holding it? The only one holding the scroll right now was Naruto so what could he mea… No. No no. He couldn't mean…

Iruka turned to Naruto with a frightened expression as a few things started to become clear to him. "Naruto you need to run now!"

Naruto finally managed to shake off the fear and confusion that was holding him in place and took off into the forest. Mizuki stepped forward in a feeble attempt to stop him but gave up half way through.

"Ah man, now I'm going to have to track him down."

"Like I would let you anywhere near him. What do you want with Naruto?"

"What does it matter to you? You'll be dead soon. The dead don't need to know anything. You should be thanking me. Death is a release from the pains of living." Mizuki said, his expression never changing.

Iruka said nothing as he took up a battle stance. He took out a kunai and stood between Mizuki and the direction that Naruto ran off in.

Mizuki simply stared at Iruka as if he were nothing more than a nuisance. "You're really going to make me fight you? Make things easy for yourself and just let me kill you now. You won't like where things go if you resist."

Iruka said nothing as he charged his former friend.

"Fine. Have it your way." Mizuki said as he charged as well.

…

Naruto leapt through the trees going as fast as he could. He had no idea what was going on. Why had those two turned on each other? Why was Mizuki suddenly talking to so funny? He had a lot of question but he wasn't sure who he should ask for answers. He now saw that Mizuki had tricked him, but he didn't understand what he meant when he was talking earlier. While he knew he was the one that Mizuki was talking about as he was the only one holding the scroll but he didn't know why.

What could Mizuki have been talking about? He wasn't a font of power. What was a font anyway? Didn't fonts have something to do with writing? He was so confused.

"Oooh Narutooo-kuun? Where are you?" Mizuki's voice carried through the forest. Naruto stopped moving and hid in the branches of a tree and listened.

"Come out, come out where ever you are. I'm not out to hurt you Naruto-kun. I only want to tell you the truth. The reason why everyone hates you so much. Wouldn't you like to know why? I know you do."

Naruto knew that he should keep himself hidden, but he felt his curiosity was hooked. He would finally know why everyone shunned him. He remained hidden but he could feel his resolve to remain so start to erode.

"Come on. I'm on the up and up here. I have no reason to lie you know. You deserve to know why you've been treated as you have your whole life. You want to know. You need to know."

Naruto remained in his hiding spot now wondering what happened to Iruka-sensei. Something had to have happened if he wasn't there defying Mizuki. That was the only thing keeping him from running out there and demanding answers.

"OK, fine. I know you can hear me so I'm just going to say it. You know how the village was attacked twelve years ago by the Nine-Tailed Fox. Well they've been keeping how that night really ended a secret. The Fourth Hokage wasn't able to kill the Fox. There isn't a ninja alive strong enough to kill a beast as mighty as the Kyuubi. No. The Fourth did the only thing he could do. He sealed the Beast inside a new born child. Guess who that child was Naruto. I'll give you three guesses but you'll only need one."

Things were making too much sense to Naruto now that everything had been said out loud. The villagers' hatred towards him. His general treatment by nearly everyone. But he would be a pretty lousy ninja if he only took this foe at his word. He could be saying anything to figure out where he was.

"I know you're starting to put the pieces together Naruto-kun. You may not be the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but I know you're smart enough to figure this one out. How does it feel knowing that these small minded people hate you for something that you had no control over? Why would you want to remain here where their cold stares will never accept you?"

Naruto was starting to get emotional now. It didn't help that he was starting to believe what the man was saying, but to say that everyone in the village hated just wasn't' true. He had Sai, and the Oranges, the Old man, Iruka, and even Rao. There was no way that he would leave them.

"I know what you're thinking. You have those people in your life that managed to look past what the other villagers think of you. Here's some truth for you though. Most of them don't know what you are. That older couple arrived after the Fox attacked. That friend of yours is just as clueless as every other brat in the village along with those people at the ramen stand you love so much. A decree passed to try and hide the fact that you are what you are. Do you think Iruka really likes you? He's scared of you. Terrified even. More than likely only befriended you in hopes that when your power is unleashed that you'll spare him out of loyalty. How do you think the ones who don't know would react once they hear what you are? You can't trust them Naruto. They'd grow to hate you as much as everyone else."

Depression was starting to set in. Would everyone he had come to care about really turn their backs on him when they learned of what he held within? It terrified him at the thought. He felt tears to fall down his cheeks and he raised a hand to wipe them away only to have his hand brush against a branch, causing it to rustle. Before he could flinch in fear Mizuki's face appeared in front of him.

"Found you."

Naruto reeled backwards from the man and fell out of the tree. Luckily he landed on his head, so wasn't that injured when he rolled himself off the ground. Still holding the scroll tightly he backed away from the tree he was in as quickly as he could. Mizuki dropped out of the tree with a confidant swagger as he landed and looked at Naruto. The blond pulled out a kunai and went into a defensive stance.

"We're never going to build any trust if you keep running and hiding Naruto-kun. If you just come with me I'm more than willing to tell you everything you'd want to know." Mizuki held out his hand towards the frightened boy.

Naruto looked down at the given hand, frowned and straightened his back in defiance. "Why would I join you? You did something to Iruka-sensei!"

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me after this, but given time you'll see that I'm right."

"NO! What kind of ninja would I be if I abandoned everything that I'm meant to protect?"

"Ah, you see, that's where you're wrong. You're not a ninja. Did that fall make you forget that you failed your exam?" Mizuki said as he stood there looking bored and annoyed. "I'm getting real tired of this you know. We're running out of time here. No telling when the others are going to show up. Now, you either come with me willingly or I'll worry about gaining your trust later and just take you. Either way you're coming with me."

Naruto stood his ground and didn't budge as he continued to glare at Mizuki. The man sighed in frustration. "You're gonna make me work for this aren't you? What am I saying? Of course you are. Very well, let's get this over with."

Mizuki took one step forward only to suddenly flip backwards as a hail of shuriken flew into the spot he had previously occupied. He smiled as he turned his head to look behind him. "Iruka. Still alive I see."

Sure enough, there was Iruka leaping out of a tree looking more than a little beat up with ragged and bloody clothing. He was breathing heavily as he held a hand to a particularly bloody spot on his torso. He coughed as he attempted to say something.

"I already told you. You're not laying a hand on Naruto." Iruka coughed some more, this time hacking out some blood. He struggled to continue standing as he took a couple of shaky steps forward. "I heard everything you said to Naruto. You're wrong. I befriended Naruto because he needed someone to help him. To guide him. I know I'm late to that, he already had the Oranges and Sai. But you know what they say, you can never have enough friends. And Naruto needs friends. His life isn't going to be easy. It'll be hard. All the more so because of his burden. He needs someone to remind him of why he's doing what he is. It's easy to lose focus of what's important in our line of work."

Iruka collapsed at that point, falling to his knees as he coughed up more blood. Still he continued speaking. "You have so little faith in what he's after that you think you can manipulate him to you think he should be. Naruto can be whatever he wants. You don't get to decide that for him. No one can."

Mizuki looked down at the fallen Iruka and blinked a few times. "You picked the wrong person to give the whole be-who-you-want-to-be speech to. It doesn't matter anyway. You're going to be dead soon and then I'll just grab the boy and be on my merry way. So why don't you do us all a favor and die already."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Naruto shouted as he charged Mizuki. The man sighed as he sidestepped the charge and tripped the boy. Naruto tumbled forward and rolled a couple times before flipping back to his feet, now firmly placed between Mizuki and Iruka.

Mizuki seemed amused by this as he chuckled a little. "I don't have to do anything. He's bleeding out and will be dead soon. He's half dead anyway."

Naruto panicked at those words. Iruka was dying? He needed to get him help. "I'll… I'll save him!"

"And how do you plan to do that? The only place you're going is with me and I'm not about to let you go get help."

"I-I'll stop you!" Naruto said as his knees stopped shaking and he straightened his stance.

"Oh yeah? You and what army?"

Naruto smirked at those words. "This one. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" They area they were in suddenly filled with smoke. When it cleared Iruka saw that every available space was filled with clones of Naruto.

Mizuki let out an impressed whistle and looked all around him. "I gotta say, wasn't expecting you to get over your little problem. But you failed to actually capitalize on your window of opportunity and not get Iruka out while you the chance. These illusions can't help you." Mizuki reached out to grab Naruto only to have his hand stopped by one of the clones. A confused look spread over his face.

"Who said they were illusions?" Naruto said as another came flying down from a tree and delivered a powerful axe kick to Mizuki's head. Before he could respond to that attack another Naruto dove into his legs throwing them out from under him. He landed hard on the ground as several other clones went in for the attack. Iruka lost track of what was happening after that as he couldn't see through the bodies exactly what they were doing to Mizuki, he could only hear the groans, grunts, and shouts he made as a result of his beating.

While his clones dealt with Mizuki, the real Naruto was kneeling next to Iruka administering first aid. Iruka wasn't going to be walking away on his own, but at least he wasn't bleeding out anymore. Naruto sent one of his clones to flag down some help and remained near Iruka for the time being.

The Naruto clones all backed off from a bruised and beaten Mizuki who despite all odds was still conscious if only barely. He seemed out of it, though this could have been because he couldn't visually focus on anything. Naruto walked over and looked down at the defeated man. Mizuki looked around at the numerous Naruto's and his confusion grew even more.

"What?" was all he was able to mutter before he passed out. It was over. Naruto fell back onto the ground next to Iruka in exhaustion, mentally and physically.

Both males smiled at each other as they heard several voices start to converge on their location. Seemed like things were starting to look up. Figuring that everyone was a few minutes away at least, Iruka felt now was a good time to speak with Naruto.

"So you finally managed to make a clone."

Naruto gave a smug smile but remained as he was in his sitting position. "Yeah, I worked really hard on that one."

"You did more than work really hard Naruto. Kage Bunshin is a B-rank forbidden jutsu. Not many are able to make more than one clone without passing out, you made hundreds. If that wasn't worthy of a passing grade I don't know what is."

"What do you mean Sensei?"

"Close your eyes for a second."

Naruto did and soon felt something wrap around his forehead. His breath stopped for a moment as he could guess but didn't want to hope.

"Alright, open up." A cheerful Iruka ordered.

Naruto did an immediately saw that Iruka was missing his headband. He felt his head and felt the cloth and metal plate there. The bold boy stared at his Sensei, tears in his eyes. He would have tackled him into a hug but held back. Took everything he had though. Iruka noticed this and was able to pull the boy into a small hug.

"You should probably apologize to Sai. He seemed upset that you just walked off on him like that."

"Yeah, I'll talk to him tomorrow. That was a pretty douchey thing to do." he said with a small sheepish smile. That vanished pretty fast though, the memories of everything Mizuki said coming back to him. Would an apology even work now? Things were different now knowing what he did. What would he tell all the people that he cared about? How would they react? He didn't have the answers. Iruka saw the turmoil Naruto was going through and decided to say something about it. Before he could though, an Anbu appeared before them.

"Good, you two are still alive. Umino, you good to move or do you require a medic?"

"Got any pain killers? Could also use a blood increasing pill." Iruka groaned out trying to stand. Though he was able to it was shaky at best. The Anbu simply nodded and pulled out the requested medicine and handed them to the injured chunin. Iruka happily downed them, feeling their effects kick in almost immediately.

"Alright, I think I'm good."

Another nod from the Anbu before he said, "Good. The Hokage wants to see both of you. Now. We'll take care of the traitor."

"Right. Come one Naruto." Iruka said and started walking, Naruto on his heels.

Before long the two were outside the Hokage's office. Without even needing to knock they heard a muffled order to enter. Opening the door they found the Hokage at his desk, looking tired and old. He didn't look like his usual self to Naruto, though Iruka had seen him this way before. Hiruzen gestured for them to sit down. He watched as they took their seats before he started speaking.

"You must have a lot of questions Naruto. Go ahead and ask."

…

"So that's what happened…" Naruto said barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you Naruto. But please understand that it was for your safety. I underestimated just how close minded the villagers could be. You didn't deserve everything that's happened to you. The Fourth wanted you to be celebrated as a hero for containing the Kyuubi. Not live as the village pariah. I fully intended to tell you once you became a genin, but as you know that didn't go to plan at all." Hiruzen told the boy. "Don't blame Iruka for any of this. Responsibility for his silence lies on me. It was my law that kept him silent. Who you tell from this point on is up to you, but I imagine that you'll have hesitations about doing that."

Naruto say in his seat and remained silent appearing deep in thought. Iruka was worried how he would take all of this now that the truth was out there. He was of course worried that Naruto wouldn't want anything to do with him ever again. This was a minor concern though as Naruto had yet to throw the headband he gave him off yet. Hiruzen had no such connection with Naruto. Sure he often sided with Naruto when others brought him before the Hokage and he usually went to see the boy when he had nothing else demanding his attention. But he wasn't there most days for Naruto like Iruka was. A couple times a month at least. He didn't need to be there to know what the boy was doing, Hiruzen had the Anbu detail tell him what Naruto was up to.

So they were both holding their breaths as Naruto decided what he was going to do. A few more moments passed before Naruto said anything. "So I'm a genin now right?"

Hiruzen let out an exasperated sigh. He should had known. "Yes Naruto. You're an official genin of the village. Being able to perform the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is an impressive feat and you should be proud of your accomplishment. And the sheer amount of clones you're able to create is an asset that should prove useful later on." Naruto smile became wide at those words.

"That being said. Now that you are a ninja, you're going to have to curb your pranking. It won't do to have one of my ninja going around causing mayhem throughout the village."

Naruto looked as if he were going to argue that point, but gave up before he could really get started. He understood that much now that it was pointed out to him. There was nothing he could do since this did sound like an order.

"Of course, what you do off-duty is none of my concern so long as it doesn't interfere with village affairs." Hiruzen said.

Naruto was a little confused at first with what the Hokage just said, but after a little bit he picked up on the unspoken words. Finally understanding he gave a mischievous grin. This put some of Hiruzen's worries down as Naruto wouldn't be smiling if he actually was against him. Still, he thought it would be best to figure out where Naruto stood with his feelings.

"Naruto, I don't mean for this to sound like I'm trying to make sure you don't do anything rash, but it would put me at ease if you could tell me how you feel towards the village."

Naruto let his smile fall as he thought about that. It didn't take long for him to come to a conclusion.

"Well, sure I'm upset about everything I learned tonight and that's going to take me a bit to come to terms with. But I don't think that changes anything for me. I still plan to show everyone how wrong they are about me and knowing the truth makes that a little easier for me to understand." He looked at Hiruzen or more accurately, his hat. "I still plan to make that hat mine one day old man, so don't think that you sit back and relax with it now that my career as a ninja has started. And you're right, I can't blame Iruka for telling me anything. To be honest I don't think I would have believed him if he did. Only reason Mizuki had me listening was because it didn't seem like something to lie about in that kind of situation. There was no tactical basis for it unless it was the truth. I can't really describe why it made sense at the time, it just didn't feel like a lie."

Hiruzen nodded, it did make a certain kind of sense. But it did bring up the next order of business they had to take care of. "Speaking of Mizuki, anyone care to fill me in on everything that happened? I was only able to see the end of the fight with Naruto, so I would like to know the details.

So Naruto and Iruka told their tale. Hiruzen listened and filed away things he thought would be important later. From the sounds of it, he was going to be taking a deeper look into all of this. He couldn't help but feel that there was something off about this whole story. Not with what they were telling him, but why it all played out.

"I see. Sounds like Mizuki was after Naruto, for what reasons we'll find out later as I'm having him sent to the T&I department. Once we knew to look at him, I ordered Mizuki's place searched. The evidence there is enough to incriminate him to several breaches in security we've had the past couple of years. That is for another time though. Naruto, you should head home. I imagine that you must be quite tired by now."

Naruto yawned just as Hiruzen said that suddenly felt his eyes get heavy. He didn't realize just how sleepy he was until it was mentioned. "Sounds like a good idea. I could use a rest after all that."

"See that you do. Come back to the academy next week to receive your team placement. Dismissed."

Naruto got up and headed for the doorway. Before he could open it Hiruzen called out. "Oh and Naruto. See to it that you keep how you got the scroll a secret. That's an order." Naruto nodded tiredly as he opened the door and left. Hiruzen saw that Iruka hung back but didn't say anything until Naruto was gone. "Something on your mind Iruka?"

"Hokage-sama, I'm not really sure how to put this… I don't think that was Mizuki I fought with tonight. His movements were wrong. I trained with him for years and knew all of his moves and while he was close tonight, everything was just a bit off. The way he spoke, the things he said. Even if he did hide his true self from me, I don't think he could hide it that well."

Hiruzen listened and something tickled in the back of his mind. A small reminder of something he had been told years ago. Something he hoped had been the musings of a stressed police chief. He dug into his drawer and searched for an old file that he hadn't looked at in years. After a minute he found what he was looking for. Pulling it out he looked through it just to confirm. Sure enough, it was a file on the murders of several civilians over the course of years. He read the notes that Fugaku had left about his suspicions. Hiruzen hoped that he was wrong, but with what Iruka was telling him it seemed that a ghost from the past had come back to haunt him and his target was now clear.

"Iruka, I'm going to ask you to come back later. I need to look into this before I can tell you more. For the time being keep what you told me to yourself."

Iruka looked confused but nodded in acknowledgement. "May I ask why Hokage-sama?"

"I think Naruto may be in danger."

* * *

 **.xVx.**

Things were quiet in the Uchiha district, that wasn't saying much as things had been quiet now for several years. Through the ruined streets and buildings the wind blew, rustling leaves and debris aside. It was in one of these husked out buildings that a lone figure stood. His clothes were the usual Uchiha garb of their simple combat outfit. What stood out was the extra-long cane he carried and the coverings over the upper half of his face. He stood there and listened. He wasn't sure for what exactly. There was something about this location that spoke to him at some level. As if there was something that he needed to know and it had to do with this spot.

If he wasn't mistaken, this spot was where his family home once stood. Could that be why he came here? He doubted it as this place stopped feeling like home to him a long time ago. But still he was drawn here by an unknown hand. If only he could figure out what that was. There had to be a reason.

A few more minutes standing there and the figure decided that it was time to head back. He wasn't going to discover anything else tonight. Using his cane he started to tap out his way through the darkened pathways to the safety of the main street. Once he reached them he stopped using the cane. It was easy enough to get home from here.

* * *

 **.xVIx.**

The night was coming to an end and the skies to the east were beginning to brighten as the sun began to rise. A lone figure made his way down the desolate road leading to the mighty gates of Konoha. His features were buried beneath a large travelers cloak but if one looked close enough they would be able to see the sword that he carried sticking out. Normally this wouldn't stand out to anyone except that there was a brush head attached to the pommel. The figure marched up to the gates to find them closed. Of course they'd be closed. He'd been gone so long that he kind of forgot that they shut at night.

Thankfully for him he didn't have to wait long as the guards soon arrived and prepped for the gates to open. They of course kept a close eye on him the entire time. He kept his distance and let them do their work. It wouldn't do to hamper his entry. Sure he was a citizen of the village, but he had been gone for such a long amount of time he wouldn't be surprised if most people had forgotten about him. It was only once the guards were ready to start processing that he strode forward and presented his papers.

"Looks like you've been gone awhile, these papers are a little outdated. We're going to have to verify that you are who you say you are." The guard told the figure.

He brought his palm to his face, just another thing to go wrong, he really should have known. He was just glad that the guard said that he would require extra screening and wasn't being turned away outright. So he waited while they passed his papers along to be double checked and verified. He watched as other travelers entered the village before him. His years of experience had him watching their movements and check for anything that he could file away as important later. Never knew when some small bit if information could come in handy.

After about an hour someone finally ran up and presented his entry papers. After checking to make sure everything was in order, the guard gestured the figure over. "Looks like everything checks out. Welcome back Pon-san."

"Thanks. It's good to be back." He walked past the gate and looked to the village that he had left behind many years ago. "Look out Konoha, Issun is back in town."

* * *

 **And Scene!**

Finally starting to see some of that interaction that I promised over a year ago. So what'd you guys think? Starting to answer some questions only to have two more pop up? I certainly hope so. I really have been looking forward to this chapter for months now and am happy that it's finally out, still kind of irritated that I lost track of how closely it follows the show. I just hope that I added enough twists and turns to shake things up. Anyway, on to reviews!

 **Dragon Man 180** \- Huzzuh! Divine instruments! This was kind of an impulsive add to the chapter, but one that I don't regret as it allowed me to introduce a few more things of interest. I'm glad you enjoyed the intro of this iconic item.

Rao! Everybody's favorite busty priestess. Not going to say much here as her presence is the story means a lot. Let's just say that I've been looking forward to her entry to the story for some time now. I have some fun facts about her that I would like to say in regards to some early ideas I had. I'll mention those later.

Unfortunately no, Sasuke will not be healing anyone with Rejuvenation. As mentioned before, the technique still requires just as much training and skill as what Tsunade does, though it has it own set of pros and cons when used. Sasuke, still an academy student (I don't care how much of a prodigy he is.), wouldn't be able to pull off healing a splinter in his toe let alone saving someone's life with it. A nice thought but no. Sorry to set that idea aflame but I have my reasons for doing things this way. You may be able to read ahead given the context clues I give but you're still far and away from hitting a home run with your predictions. Still, it's fun to see your ideas on what could be.

 **bladesbane** \- It seems my first words for her are working as intended! As above though, I won't be talking about Rao very much down here. Hehehe... Just you wait, I got plans. Plans for days.

 **amurphy616** \- If I put in everything I thought of for Naruto for this story there wouldn't be room for anything else let alone character development. As it is I've cut so many ideas that I had in mind including one that was advertised in the summary until recently.

Since I'm on the subject, for those who remember in the summary was a line that said Fuinjutsu-versed Naruto. I have since changed my stance on this. I had originally planned to have the entire class learn about fuinjutsu but I couldn't find a decent spot to place a section for it. And really, when used in fanfics fuinjutsu can get out of hand real quick. There simply isn't all that much info on it that I could work with so I had to fill several blanks which true to what I said, got out of hand. So to keep better focus on what I do intend to keep, I chose to cut out fuinjutsu for now. There may be a chance to reintroduce that later on but I'd rather focus on the more immediate things for right now.

But to more properly answer your question, I do have plans for Naruto to grow beyond his canon teachings. Seems only fitting that since Sasuke learned some burashijutsu that Naruto learn some as well. he will still make use of his canon abilities, but now with some new stuff added in that work with his strengths and not some shoe horned in ability or item. Like a super uber powerful sword that is so legendary that it was thought but a myth lost to the eons. Anyone else find that annoying?

 **Zoran Dawn-Eclipse** \- So I'm going to skim over that first part as there's a lot to talk about there, but I would rather focus on the important things here. But yes, I do have an idea to replace the often seen Wave Arc. Don't get to excited is really all I can say. I personally look forward to it but I am unsure how you guys will respond. Either way I still look forward to that Arc.

Once again I am proud of what I did there. Though Divine Retribution is nothing more than your starting weapon in the game, I felt it should have more presence and importance here. I'm sure that you can all guess to at least one other secret that it holds, the Okami just haven't figured out that little feature yet. As for the untranslatable kanji, yes it is mist. I put that there more to show that Jiraiya isn't a master at translation rather than some big mystery. We all know what it is just not the characters. As for the block of text hidden in the mirror, we'll just have to wait and see.

If you're still wondering about the shapeshifter, I don't know what to tell you. After this chapter I'm hoping that the identity should be a little clearer now. I would just like to say that I dislike having to create OC's and can say that I have one true OC in the story and two mostly OC characters introduced so far. The two are of course Rasu and Ammako and my reasoning for this has been explained already and they border OC territory just enough to mark them as such even if they are mostly based off of an established character. At least to me they do. Going to hold off on the true OC for now, I'll talk about him later. With that said, you're correct that you should know who the shapeshifter is as it's not someone I came up with. Changed yes, thought up no.

Sasuke will be given support yes, accepting it though... I'll let the chapter speak for itself. Happy to see that I managed to throw a curve ball on yuh, that was satisfying to hear. As mentioned, Sasuke won't be the only learning some nifty burashijutsu, he was just one of the first. Though as we can see here he appears to be having difficulty adjusting his mindset to use it again. I wonder why.

The glyph hidden in the mirror made sense to me for some reason. Anyone notice how many mirrors are present in the game? I figured that I could work with that somehow and this is another part to showcase that in addition to the Origin mirrors.

Dude,I've hinted at several people and things that have yet to make an appearance, Rao being one of them. Indirectly, but yes. Going to be honest, I didn't think it'd be this soon either. The idea popped up and I ran with it as it didn't change my plans for her at all, it just allowed me a good way to introduce her in a better way than I had intended. Made it nice and ominous.

This is a point that I really wanted to get across. Success only to have it thrown to the side in the wake of bigger issues. Think about that and guess why he's having issues with the technique now.

 **jiongu-naruto** \- The brush techniques aren't hiden, the Okami feel that most of what they know is meant to me shared by those they trust so they have no issue teaching them to people they feel can handle it. That being said not everyone can use them. I think I gave a rough explanation in an earlier chapter so maybe give that a look. If not then I think I need to write up a better info chart for how burashijutsu work. Either way I have thought a rule set that I have been attempting to adhere to, though I'm not sure how well I've done so.

 **Aguion12** \- Don't get me wrong, a person being a dick is unavoidable. Look at Mizuki, his entire purpose to the story is to be a colossal dick. But making your big bad one without reason or any other personality traits is, as I said before, lazy writing. Minor antagonists can be as simple or complex as you want them, but the big guys need better motive than "I'ma be a dick or I'm a crazy person."

Unfortunately you would be correct, the massacre is too big an event to pass up in its entirety. We'll see more of the aftermath next chapter though, so look forward to that. I hope I dropped enough in this chapter to grab your interest there.

So with those out of the way. A little director cut stuff here. When I originally thought up this story there were a lot more students in the class, enough to make at least two more teams in addition to the one additional one already there. Rao was supposed to be one of those and would have been an interesting character to that original idea. I planned on having her be this student who was obsessed with the Kyuubi and would do anything to learn more about it. Take that for what it was. I dropped that idea as the story began to form into what it is now. What I do regret losing is the fighting style I had in mind for her. Using her prayer slips she would have been like a mini Konan. She wouldn't be creating a sea of explosive seals, but I did want her to have like this whip ribbon that she could control with chakra and she would've been skilled with making certain types of paper seals on her own. These would've included explosives, chakra sealing, chakra draining, and standard storage seals. I would recycle those ideas but unfortunately they don't really work with anyone else now and Rao is taking a very different path from this original draft. Maybe I could make use of these later but for now they're on the cutting room floor.

And with that I think I've said what I need to, so until next time. Please review and have a nice day.


	13. Next Day

Shorter chapter here (comparatively), explanation at bottom.

* * *

 **Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 13**

 **Next Day**

 **.xIx.**

* * *

 _Hiding._

 _It was all that could be done really. The sounds of hissing and slithering could be heard all around. It would be best not to be found. No telling what would happen if they ever found out that there was someone here who shouldn't be. Where was here? There wasn't anything to really say, only bland endless hallways as far as the eye could see. The occasional light fixture here and there was pretty much the only thing that could be seen regularly aside from the separate halls on the sides._

 _How many times were these halls going to appear? Seemed like they had been there forever and didn't seem to be going away anytime soon. Recently the sounds had gotten louder, a sure sign that they had become aware of a presence and were seeking it out. Hiding was going to get harder._

 _Crouching, hiding in a distant corner of a room was getting stressful as the hissing and slithering started to get louder. They sounded agitated. That… wasn't a good sign. Sweat started to drip to the floor, also not a good sign. What if they heard the dripping? Or smelled it? Not good, definitely not good. Good thing all that noise they were making covered the sound of drips._

 _Or, they would have. Things suddenly went quiet and the atmosphere became all the more unnerving for it. A breath was held. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. They didn't start up again, probably listening so they could find the intruder. Things remained silent._

 _Still, there was this feeling in the air, something had changed. For the first time in years, the halls seemed to recognize that there was a foreign presence walking through them. Rather than search every nook and corner, it waited the presence out. Ready for the moment when it made a mistake and proved without a doubt that it was there._

 _Hide. Stay hidden. Don't let the halls know where you are. Silent. Stay quiet. Don't let the halls hear you._

 _The halls rumbled, frustrated that their ploy didn't work. The hissing started up again, this time almost of if whatever was making the noise were communicating with each other. It was everywhere now as the creatures purged every dark corner and crevice where something could hide._

 _Their tone became even more agitated with every empty hiding spot they found. Still they searched the next one and the one after that. They were getting closer. Crouch. Don't make a sound. Don't breathe._

 _The hissing gets louder, the slithering more agitated. The sound is all around now, they've surrounded the hiding spot. There was nothing to do now except wait for them to discover this corner. It was all over._

 _Once again everything went still and quiet for no more than a second, the quietest second that had ever been heard._

" _Found you."_

 _BREET BREET BR_ EET BREET BREET!

The alarm clock.

Most people hated them but in times of need it was always there to drive away the nightmares. None too soon this time it seemed. Looked like the start of a new day. Better get up and start training, the life of a shinobi lay ahead now after all. Perhaps one day the answers to these horrific dreams will make themselves known. Hopefully by then the strength to face them will be within reach.

"Sweetie? Are you up yet?"

"Coming mom!"

* * *

 **.xIIx.**

An alarm clock slammed into the wall after letting its owner know it was time to wake up. Ammako glared at the still intact device. She was out of school now, it was unreasonable to have to wake up at this hour. Still, she had a schedule to keep. Begrudgingly she oozed out of bed and prepared for the day. After a quick shower she found herself in front of her closet. She looked down at the neatly folded clothes in the center of her wardrobe. As tempting as it was to put on her new gear, she wanted to wait until next week when she received her team placement. Didn't want to ruin it before then. So she looked at her other options.

After a bit she settled on a simple outfit. A red shirt, blue shorts, black sandals, and a red bow in her hair. Glancing in the mirror, she deemed herself acceptable. Today was going to be a good day after all. From what she had heard, nearly all of her class had passed their exams, all except a few civilian students and Naruto. She wasn't all that surprised that the blond boy didn't pass, with all the classes he missed and his poor grades. Still, it was a shame that someone with his endurance couldn't make the cut. If he only took his schoolwork a little more seriously he would've passed with the rest of them.

She couldn't focus on that though, he made his bed and now he had to lie in it, she had more important matters to attend to. Like celebrating hers and Hinata's own graduations. She had no doubts that they would, though she had gotten bored the last few semesters. Boredom and she didn't mix. While she didn't have a certain blonds outrage to being bored, whenever she found herself without physical or mental stimulation she often grew drowsy. When that happened in class she pretty much followed the ways of the Nara boy and napped. It wasn't her fault that everyone else didn't keep up with the reading, though it was her fault for reading ahead.

Granted, she had a hard time with the written portion of her exam. Not because it was difficult by any means, it was tough because she hadn't eaten in her excitement to get to school that morning and her stomach made its displeasure known. This made it hard for her to really concentrate on her writing. If only she had smuggled a cherry cake into class then she would've been clearheaded enough to finish getting her answers down. As it was, she had left at least two questions unanswered and one half finished. She had lamented over that and it still stung. Surely this would affect whose team she ended up on. Though it was only a rumor, she had heard that tests scores would be taken into consideration when teams were being put together. She didn't want her scores to decide who she ended up being partnered with.

Ammako flopped onto her bed and thought about who she could end up with. As much as she would like to be on a team with Hinata, that didn't seem likely given the traditional team makeup. Two boys, one girl. That's how it was. Sure, sometimes it wouldn't always be that way, though circumstances usually dictated that. She had counted that amount of people in class and had determined that the teams would be the traditional one. Well, maybe. Naruto failing the exams meant that they were one boy short.

' _Hmm… Shikamaru could be a good teammate, he's not too loud and has more smarts than most people I know. Chouji's not a jerk either, so he'd be alright I guess. Don't want to be on a team with Kiba, I don't think there'd be enough room for him, Akamaru, and his ego. Shino… he's quiet, that shouldn't be too bad. Don't know why everyone else is freaked out by his bugs, I think they're kinda cool. Don't know about Sasuke.'_ Ammako thought. It was difficult to really know what to think of the Uchiha boy. He got a lot quieter after the fire. She couldn't blame him really, you don't go through that kind of tragedy without some issues.

' _Maybe Kuni? He takes his training seriously at least. A little loud though. Sai…'_ Ammako felt her face grow warm and felt a familiar tenseness in her gut at that thought of the pale boy. She quickly sat up and slapped both of her cheeks. _'No! Not thinking about that! There's no room for boys!'_

The Okami girl got up and walked to her bookshelf. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, just something to distract her from where her mind went. She knew what it was she felt, but she didn't have time for that. She wasn't like Sakura and Ino, she wasn't boy crazy. Though she sometimes had to question about Hinata. That girl often got this far away look in her eyes and her lack of pupils made it hard to pin point who exactly she was looking at. If she didn't know better she could've sworn she was looking in the direction of Sai's desk. She felt another twinge of something, this time an ever so slight feeling of jealousy. Sure, she understood that there was every chance that Hinata could easily be looking at someone else. Who else would she look at though? Naruto? Unlikely.

Ammako slapped herself in the cheeks again. This is why she didn't fawn over boys, thoughts of them only led to trouble. No wonder most of the other girls in class proved to be troublesome to deal with. She wasn't about to let thoughts of boys drive a wedge between her and the closest thing to a sister she had. Still, it did leave a mild itch in the back of her mind. Who did Hinata like? Ammako figured that if Hinata ever felt like telling her she would, so she wouldn't pry for now.

Another shake of her head and she finally managed to banish these thoughts. Freaking hormones. She wondered when things would begin to even out. Either way, she had things to do today. Ammako left her room and marched towards her mother's office. A minute of walking through the ever growing decorations of the Okami halls. The young Okami girl could have sworn that every time she walked these halls there was another art piece located somewhere. While she loved the art she couldn't help but feel that it was a bit much at times. Where did they even find all these pieces?

She didn't wonder about it for too long though as she arrived at her destination. A quick knock on the door and then she waited. A few seconds passed before she knocked again.

' _Mom's not in there I guess.'_ she thought as she entered anyway. While it would've been better if her mom had been there, it didn't hurt anyone if she went in anyway. Her goal was what it always was, Divine Retribution. Ever since she had first laid eyes on it she couldn't get enough of it. She understood that most of her clan felt that way about it. One of the reasons why anyone could go look at it. That and the hope that maybe someone could discern any of its secrets.

She looked at it mounted in the center of the spacious office on a simple stand and basked in its beauty. The strange green material it was made of was such a lovely shade. It was a brilliant jade green and yet wasn't made of jade at all. Its composition was more metal like than it was stone like. She ran her fingers over its surface and marveled how smooth it felt. She always felt enchanted whenever she looked at it, almost as if it was trying to connect with her.

"In here again? Maybe we just move your room into here given how often I find you staring at that thing." Rasu's voice sounded behind Ammako. This wasn't the first time her mother had found her like this.

Ammako turned to see her mother enter the room carrying a stack of paperwork. The years didn't seem to have touched the older Okami woman as she looked much the same as she always did to Ammako, though she may be biased. Though she figured most people thought the same as many often confused the two for sisters. She wasn't entirely sure if they were being serious or not. Her mother is an attractive woman after all, people could just be saying things to garner favor. To her, she was just mom.

"I just wanted to look at it again." was her reply as she turned her eyes back to the disc.

"A girl your age shouldn't be inside looking at old artifacts all day, weren't you going to meet with Hinata to celebrate?"

"Not for another hour at least, her dad still has her training right now. He's not giving her mornings back until we're assigned to our teams."

"I do hope you realize that just because you're done with school that you'll have more free time. The life of a ninja is a busy one, what with all the missions you'll be taking from now on." Rasu said as she walked to her desk and set down her papers. "So are you just going to sit there looking at it? I know it's pretty but no one else stares at it like you do."

"I feel like there's something about it. It's almost like the disc is calling to me." Ammako told her mother, her eyes never leaving the artifact. "I can't really describe it, but it also feels like the call is getting stronger."

"Should I be concerned that you're talking to an inanimate object?"

Ammako turned and huffed at her mother. "I'm not talking to it nor is it talking to me. It's more like… I don't know. I've just felt more attracted to it lately. I can't seem to help it."

"Ok, this does sound a little more serious than I had thought. How long has this been going on?"

Ammako shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Since I found those glyphs in the mirror I guess."

"And you never told me before why?"

"I only noticed it recently but I've felt drawn to it since that day. I thought it was just curiosity. Only lately has it felt more like a pull than a simple interest."

"Well, this seems pretty serious. Since you're not going to anywhere for the moment, you won't mind going through a thorough questioning about all this then."

Ammako realized her mistake instantly and made a bolt for the door. She didn't want to answer questions! Despite her speed, her mother had anticipated her escape and beat her to the door.

Ammako despaired seeing her only means of exiting the room blocked off.

"So, care to answer some questions?"

Ammako groaned. Hinata probably didn't have to deal with this kind of behavior from her family.

* * *

 **.xIIIx.**

Hinata slammed hard into the floor. She wasn't down long though as she rolled into the fall and was back on her feet in less than a second. As soon as she was up she dodged a strike to her shoulder. Another hit came from her left causing her to duck to avoid it. A series of strikes were the follow up and all were parried as the girl fought to hold her ground. An unexpected kick lashed out and hit her in the gut. She gasped out as the wind was knocked out of her and she got sent flying back. Once again she found herself on the floor, this time unable to do anything about the strike that was sure to land. She cracked open her eyes and sure enough, she saw the hit coming down.

"Enough!" an authoritative voice called out. The hit meant for her stopped mere centimeters away from her chest. The hand left it juken position and turned into an open palm, offering to help her up. Hinata took the hand and looked up at her cousin Neji as he pulled her to her feet. Neji stepped back as soon as he was sure that she wasn't going to fall over.

Once she steadied herself, she turned to see her father standing where he had been when the match had started, the ever present stoic expression of the Hyūga on his face. Hinata couldn't tell what he was feeling because of that. She fell into file next to Neji awaiting further instruction from her father. Once the two were situated, the Hyūga patriarch stepped over to them.

"Neji, excellent as always. Your help is no longer needed for the day, you should head out to meet with your team." Hiashi said to the younger male.

Neji bowed before he left the room, leaving Hinata alone with her father. She knew what was coming of course, it was the same every morning. Six years of training had prepared her for the critique that she was about to receive. She had long passed being nervous during her morning training. Still, she couldn't help but hold her breath as she waited for her father to speak. He was quiet longer today than he usually was, probably what caused her to be a little apprehensive about what he would tell her today. Her father circled around behind her and she knew that he had his back to hers. A little habit that she noticed her did when he was thinking. All it did was make her a little more anxious and she had to struggle to keep from rubbing the tips of her fingers together.

Though it was only a few seconds, it felt like minutes to the girl. Her father usually had an idea of exactly what to tell her at the end of these sessions, why he was delaying now confused her. It was once he moved back into her line of sight that she snapped back to attention. Standing in front of her, her father looked every bit the man that he was, the leader of the Hyūga clan and a powerful shinobi. In the next second though, his face changed, became softer and less stoic. He placed his hand to her shoulder and gave her a sad smile.

"You're technique has improved Hinata." Hiashi stared with, "However, it's not enough. You're holding back." Hiashi stared down at the girl, awaiting a response.

"I-I don't know what you mean Oto-san." Hinata replied, her head moving to a slight bow.

"Perhaps you don't, but I can see it. Until you're able to push pass these self-imposed limits, I'm afraid there isn't much more left to train you in. From this point you're going to have to figure out how to move beyond this on your own. This is not a punishment, the only way you'll grow is to figure this out your own way. Once you have, we'll be able to continue your training." Hiashi said with a note of finality. "All considering, this is fortunate timing. I would have had to hand over the reins on your training anyway seeing as you're on a team now. Your Jonin sensei will be responsible for that now."

Hinata remained quiet after hearing her father's words. While she couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he was no longer going to train her, she had to recognize that it was conditional. She may not know exactly what it was that was holding her back, but she did know that her father wouldn't stop her training for no reason. If he said that she had to learn this lesson before moving on then so be it.

She merely bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"I hope you understand this Hinata, I do not mean to demean all you've worked for to now, but it simply won't do to not reach your full potential. I expect weekly reports from you on your team activities. Now, go and enjoy your week off. Starting next week, you'll be a ninja of the village." With that, Hiashi left, leaving Hinata alone in the room.

Now that everyone had left, Hinata let out a sigh that she'd been repressing for several minutes now. A knot had formed in her gut when her father said that her training would be halted until she learned to not hold back. While she felt more than capable, she couldn't help but think that she wasn't ready yet. To bring harm to others? Harming others was an unavoidable aspect of being a ninja, one that Hinata wasn't too keen on having to perform. Still, there were expectations that she was obligated to meet and she would. It would take some time of course, maybe all she needed was experience before she adjusted.

Yeah, that was it.

Deciding to heed her father's words, the young Hyūga left the training room and returned to her room. Since she was free to spend the next week relaxing, it wouldn't hurt to go and hang out with Ammako. Honestly she was looking forward to it, it had been so long since the two could had a chance to socialize. Picking out a simple outfit, Hinata changed out of her training clothes and quickly got dressed. Satisfied that her outfit was appropriate, she looked at the headband she had received the day before.

A sense of pride swelled in her chest. Unlike most of her class, Hinata was aware of the increased difficulty that their classroom had gone through. She suspected that nearly all of the students from clans knew of this, it would be naive to think otherwise. Granted her knowledge was from Ammako, given that her surrogate grandfather taught the class. Thinking about this though reminded her of those that didn't pass. More specifically a certain blond haired prankster. While she wasn't present when the boy finished his exam, she did manage to exit the school in time to hear the others talking about him.

Some of the things she heard weren't all that pleasant, namely hearing that Naruto didn't pass. For some reason hearing this news bothered her. Maybe she just wanted him to do well, given that he had helped her before. That had to have been it. Now it would be difficult to repay the debt owed. Yeah. No other possible reason. No she didn't feel her cheeks heat up… that was from the training.

Nothing she could do about it now.

As it was, she had someplace to be.

* * *

 **.xIVx.**

Hiruzen looked down on an unconscious restrained Mizuki, his features set in stone though an ominous aura surrounded the aged man. If there was anything Hiruzen hated most it was a traitor, this one just happened to try and kill someone that Hiruzen held dear. The emotions he was feeling in the presence of this man were that of rage and retribution, being leader though he had to restrain himself for the time being. He turned to another man to his right, this one wearing a bandana and had scars running down his face. Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force, stood just as still as his leader, if Hiruzen's aura was blazing then Ibiki's was cold.

"Wake him." Hiruzen ordered.

Ibiki grinned a cruel smile as he strode forward and delivered a powerful backhand to Mizuki's face. The silver haired chunin jolted awake and tried to move, only to find his limbs securely fastened to the seat he was in. He quickly scanned the room, his gaze unfocused and confused. A few seconds passed before he managed to actually focus on the two men in front of him. Recognition set in pretty quick then as terror took over his features and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of something to save his hide.

Hiruzen had expected this and to save time, cut the traitor off before he could say a thing. "Don't bother Mizuki, we already know everything. There's no point in trying to lie." he said, his voice cold and hard.

Mizuki shut his mouth and started shivering in fear. He had heard rumors of what happened in T&I, more so about the scarred man next to the Hokage. If he knew anything about this place, it was that there was little point in lying, things would only get worse for him. Being a coward at heart, he gave a defeated nod as he slumped in his seat.

Ibiki scoffed in disappointment, he was hoping that the traitor would argue the point. It would have been more fun if he had. Considering that the Hokage decided to be here for the interrogation already took away most of his entertainment as the old man had taken charge. So he stood back until the Hokage needed him and watched as Hiruzen moved to stand in front of the silver haired traitor.

Hiruzen stood menacingly in front of Mizuki, letting only of portion of his killing intent leak out. After all, it wouldn't do to have the traitor pass out again to fear. It had the intended effect of course, Hiruzen had Mizuki near pissing himself as he stood there for a good minute, letting his rage wash over Mizuki.

Once he felt that Mizuki had stewed enough he reduced his intent to minimum output and spoke. "I'd rather not waste time here Mizuki. What you choose to tell me will determine whether or not I send you to prison, to an early grave, or…" he looked over his shoulder at the scarred man, who gave a wicked grin. "…to Ibiki. I'm sure you've heard about him and what he can do."

Mizuki didn't do anything besides give a quick glance at the T&I head and gave another nod.

"Good. Now first things first. We already know about everything you've done before last night, so we're not going to waste time on them. Right now, I want to know about your scheme yesterday. What were your plans? Who were you working for? Talk."

Mizuki spilled. "I was in contact with Orichimaru. I didn't have any direct orders, I-I was acting on my own. I wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Steal the scroll and kill the Fox. With the scroll I could've bought my way into Orichimaru's good graces, set myself up outside the village. The added benefit of using the Fox to take it and kill it afterward was just icing on the cake." Mizuki paused as confusion overtook his features. "Not that any of that happened. I remember going out to drink and then… nothing. Last thing I remember is waking up and seeing nothing but orange and yellow and feeling a lot of pain. Next I'm here."

Hiruzen had to acknowledge that Mizuki's words were true. He had Inoichi mind-walk Mizuki earlier while he was unconscious and what he was just told matched what the Yamanaka had told him. The majority of the silvered haired man's memories were blacked out, clear signs that he wasn't awake for any of it. Meaning someone spent the day walking around wearing the younger man's face. What else could it be? Based off what Iruka had told him and the old case file, he had no choice but to conclude that the shapeshifter was responsible. Not that he could say anything right now. He had to keep this contained. If this knowledge spread around, it could get back to the shifter and tip it off. He had to keep what he knew close to the chest for the time being. He had already ordered Iruka to remain silent for the time being until he had a chance to work out a plan. He was already thinking about who he could talk about this with. While he had ninja that he felt he could trust with most things, the shifter presented a unique and terrifying breach that had to be handled carefully.

Right now the shifter probably thought it had gotten away scot free. This could work in Hiruzen's favor, so long as he let it think that it had gotten away. That would only work so long as it didn't know that he knew it existed. A trap could be laid out. But that was something to work out later. Right now he had to deal with this pathetic ninja in front of him.

Rather than saying anything, he instead unleashed another more potent wave of his killing intent on Mizuki for a second, enough to knock him out. Once the chunin was unconscious, Hiruzen turned to exit the cell and motioned for Ibiki to follow.

"Sir, permission to speak?"

"You may."

"Not to question your methods sir, but am I missing something? That can't be everything he knew. Let me have a few minutes with him, I can get him to spill more."

"That won't be necessary, I've got everything I need to know. Send him to the Correctional Facility. I have other things to attend to. Dismissed."

Ibiki bowed and left to execute his orders. Hiruzen was left with his thoughts as he left the T&I section and walked back to his office. Indeed, he had much to go over.

* * *

 **.xVx.**

Sasuke was breathing hard and his muscles were aching. He gave a hard stare to the man standing in front of him. Despite his many years, Uchiha Yuu stood before his grandson in a combat stance. Yuu motioned for Sasuke to try again and the boy took a breath before altering his stance and going in with another series of strikes. He first tried to go in low but found that Yuu was already prepared for this. Sasuke changed his approach and tried to get past his grandfather's defense only to find that Yuu had changed his stance to better counter the assault.

Sasuke leapt back to avoid a hit aimed for his chest only to find himself now on the defensive. His grandfather had turned the battle around, forcing Sasuke to give ground in order to avoid all the hits being sent his way. His grandfather may not be in his prime anymore, but his years of experience proved to more than a match for the younger boy's youthful energy. Sasuke was able to fend off the counter attack but found that he simply wasn't a match for the older Uchiha. It wasn't long before Yuu broke through Sasuke's defenses and sent him flying to the ground.

Exhausted, Sasuke didn't try to get up, he was defeated. He heard footsteps approach and turned his eyes to his grandfather.

"Pathetic. You should be running circles around me boy. What was that? You faltered in your assault. Rather than jumping back you should have accepted the hit and turned it back on me!" he all but yelled down at the boy. He scoffed. "If your eyes were awakened you would've seen that."

Sasuke remained silent. It wouldn't do to argue with the man. He was the oldest living Uchiha now and his word was to be respected, even if he came off as pompous. Still, he had a point. One would think that he would've awakened his Sharingan the night of fire, yet his eyes remained charcoal black as ever.

"You are the last hope of the Uchiha Sasuke, you should take your training more seriously. We shall squeeze as much as we can into the next week. How has your jutsu training been? Any progress?"

"No Ojii-san. I haven't been able to get it to work." Replied the boy.

"Hmph." was all the response Yuu gave. The layer of disappointment was thick in the curt sound. "Tend to your chores, we'll continue later this evening, I have matters to see to."

With that, Yuu marched off, a noticeable limp present in his gait. Experienced he may be, but age takes hold of even the mighty. Much as the old man spouted about the strength of the Uchiha, his had left him long ago. Going against a genin was about the limit of his capability and he knew it. Sasuke watched his grandfather go, glad to be left to his own devices.

Or, he would have been, had it not been the cough that sounded behind him.

"You shouldn't let Ojii-san's words get to you otouto. He means well, he's just… well, old. Set in his ways as it were."

Sasuke turned and found his older brother leaning nonchalantly against the wall.

"He's right though. I should be stronger. If only I had my Sharingan…" he trailed off.

"Bah. Don't let the expectations of others limit you. You're capable of so much more than he thinks you are. It'll come in time." Itachi said.

"…easy for you to say…" Sasuke muttered.

"Don't mutter Sasuke, it's beneath you. Don't measure where you're at with where I was. That's a good way to discourage any progress you'll make."

Sasuke was silent for a moment. He didn't want to talk about this right now. With a huff the boy prepared to walk off. He didn't make it three feet before Itachi stopped him.

"Have you seen Izumi today?" the teen asked.

Sasuke shook his head as he answered. "Didn't think she'd left her room. She's been in there for a few days now."

"Could you do a favor for me and look for her? I'd do it myself but…" Itachi gestured at his face.

"Tsk. I'm not her babysitter. Besides, I've got chores to do." With that, the young Uchiha walked off, leaving Itachi behind.

Itachi remained in his leaning position for another moment. Sighing, Itachi straightened up as he turned to go back inside, tapping his cane along as he went.

* * *

 **.xVIx.**

Ammako found herself once again walking through the village towards her usual provider of snacks. It was a good day, she deserved to treat herself. Hinata was to meet up with her there, hopefully she would be her usual punctual self and be there before the Okami girl. A smile spread across her face at the thought of good food and being able to hang out with her best friend for the first time in months. Well, for longer than an hour maybe.

It wasn't long before she all but skipped happily up to the front door of the Orange shop. Whatever she had been expecting to see when she entered was banished from her thoughts when she saw a familiar mop of wild blond hair.

"… and that's how my night went! Aren't I awesome Oji-san!" the boy blared out loudly.

' _And my day had started out so peacefully too…'_ Ammako dismayed to herself as she finished walking in. _'and who is he calling Oji-san?!'_

"Well that sounds like quite the tale Naruto, but why do I get the feeling that you're not telling me everything?" asked the aged shopkeeper.

"What? I don't know what you mean…" Naruto said, not really all that convincing.

"Heh, not going to push. If you can't say you can't say." Mr. Orange chuckled out. Sensing movement, he turned to see his surrogate granddaughter. "Oh, Ammako. Wasn't expecting you until later."

Ammako cautiously approached the two, her eyes wearily fixed on the blond haired boy. She knew he wasn't going to bite, but things tended to go wrong around him more often than not, it would only help to be prepared. "I wanted to meet up with Hinata-chan, is she not here yet?"

"Nope, haven't seen her. Probably the first time you arrived before she did."

The Okami girl nodded still keeping an eye on Naruto. "So what are you doing here Naruto?"

"What do you mean? I always come here." he stated.

This surprised the girl. "Always? I've never seen you here."

"Well, you're an heiress aren't you? Aren't you busier than me?"

Ammako fought to slap her face with her palm. Of course that would be the case. Her duties have only grown as she got older, naturally she wouldn't be on the same schedule as the clanless boy. A flash of jealousy shot through her mind.

' _Wait, doesn't that mean he gets to spend more time with Ojii-san and Obaa-chan?'_ she thought in a mild panic.

She eyed Mr. Orange for confirmation and he returned a slight not before saying, "It's actually hard to get rid of him in fact. Had to kick him out on more than one occasion."

"Don't be like that Oji-san, you know you love me!" Naruto boasted with his signature smile.

"Bah! I should've asked this when you first showed, but why are you here so early? You usually don't show up until much later."

Naruto thought about it for a second before answering. "I guess I was just excited and wanted to tell somebody. You were the first person on my way. I'm going to go tell Teuchi next!"

"Why not go tell Sai?"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond only to freeze before a word could be uttered. A look of panic swept over his features as he appeared to remember something. "Oh crap! I didn't apologize to him! I gotta go! Later Oji!" he hastily said as he ran out of the shop. The door jingled shut as the two stared at it, a little dumbfounded at the sudden exit.

"What do you suppose that was about?" asked the older man.

"How should I know? I only went to class with the guy."

"Exactly, you should know him better than me."

"I spent more time on my homework and studies! I don't have time to worry about what my classmates are up to!" Ammako asserted. She found herself now curious. "What was he even talking about when I walked in anyway?"  
A devilish grin spread over Mr. Orange's face at the question. "I thought you didn't have time to worry about what everyone was doing." he said coyly.

Ammako huffed at his teasing. "I don't. Curiosity got the better of me is all."

The old man laughed heartedly. "If you want to know, you should ask him yourself. How you don't have more friends is beyond me."

Ammako huffed a little more. She didn't have time for more friends. Not really. As it was, she didn't even have time to hang out with Hinata all that much anymore. Today was supposed to be for them as reward for graduating. Not just today, but the whole week before they were put on teams. This was their time to catch up after so many months of being too busy.

Before she could answer, the door jingled once again. The familiar face of Hinata walked into the shop, her presence dispersing the current air of annoyance that Ammako had been feeling. Almost immediately Ammako felt better now that the Hyūga girl was here.

"Hinata!" Ammako shouted as she stepped forward and embraced the bluenette in an enthusiastic hug.

"Good morning Ammako-san." Hinata managed to gasp out before the hug pushed the air out of her lungs.

"It's about time you got here! We have so much to do today! First, we get Obaa-chan to make us some snacks." she said as she led Hinata to the back of the store.

Mr. Orange watched as the timid girl was dragged helplessly away by the young Okami. He chuckled again, knowing full well that Hinata would have been more than happy to follow under her own power and didn't need to be led by the hand.

"Heh, kids."

* * *

 **.xVIIx.**

Hatake Kakashi stared at the tower before him. Normally he wouldn't have arrived in the timely manner that he did today, but this was a special case however as the Hokage had stated this was an emergency. So here he was, a little agitated as he hadn't been told why he was here. Nobody got in his way as he made his way through the halls of the building, a slight air of annoyance surrounding him. Normally he was told what the emergency was and why it was important he hurry. Much as he wanted to show his displeasure by arriving late, he understood that this was a grave matter. Anyway, the sooner he got there, the sooner he knew what the matter was.

It wasn't long before the silver haired jonin arrived at the Hokage's office door. He gave it a bored look before knocking. "Come in." was the reply. Kakashi entered as aloofly as he could, it wouldn't do to have people think just any emergency would get to him.

The first thing he noticed as he entered was that there were more people than the Hokage in the office. Two others, a chunin and an Anbu. The Anbu he recognized as Elk, one of the best investigators he had worked with when he was in Anbu. It took him a second to place the chunin, but soon recognized the scar over his nose.

"Kakashi, you're not late." The Hokage said, a slight tone of suspicion present. Kakashi got the sense that his life was in danger, though he couldn't really figure out why. This told him that he should be as forth coming as possible for the next few minutes if only to get answers.

"You said it was an emergency."

"I've asked you to show up for emergencies before and still arrived late." That tone was still there.

The Hokage directed a cold glare his way as he asked a question. "Who killed Nohara Rin?"

Kakashi froze for a second, if only because he didn't know the immediate response. That knowledge was classified as an S-class secret, only a few people knew the answer to that and only he and the Hokage knew out of the people present. Something told him though that he should answer truthfully.

"I did."

The pressure within the room dropped and Kakashi felt the sense of impending doom lift off his shoulders.

"I apologize for asking that Kakashi, I had to be sure it was you." Hiruzen said as he gestured to a seat. Kakashi took it despite preferring to stand. This had to be important.

"Why wouldn't I be me?"

So the Hokage told him.

…

"…and that's why I had you come in and the need to discern your identity."

Kakashi turned over what he had just learned in his head. A shapeshifter who didn't give off a chakra signature was dangerous to have lose within the village walls, no wonder it seemed suspicious that he arrived on time. Anyone who knew him would think that was out of character for him to not be late.

"You want me in on the investigation."

"Naturally. You're one of the more unique ninja I have at my disposal and who better to go after a copycat than the Copy Ninja?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Going on a hunt for prey like this won't be all that effective. If this shifter has been here as long as you say it has, then it's safe to assume that it knows how to stay incognito when it has to. Should it even catch wind that someone is after, it'll just go to ground. It can be anyone and anywhere. Hunting won't work."

Iruka clenched his fists in annoyance. "Then what do you suggest? This thing is after Naruto!"

"Correction, it's after the Kyuubi." Elk interjected. "The fact that it's in Naruto is circumstantial."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "That is where we have the advantage. We know what it's after. The only question is how we can use that to press that advantage."

"Are you suggesting using Naruto as bait?!" Iruka yelled.

Hiruzen raised a hand to calm Iruka. "We're not saying that. It's too soon to be hasty about our decisions right now. This thing is clever and has had years of experience in hiding in plain sight. It will take careful planning to lure it out. Kakashi is right though, the fact that we know it's after Naruto is a major card in our sleeve. Know this though Iruka, Naruto is a shinobi of this village now and will face many risks in his life. Definitely more than others given his circumstances, meaning that we can't treat him like a child. As soon as we know more he'll be brought in. For the time being though, he should focus on his training and growing stronger." Hiruzen then turned to Kakashi. "And that's another reason I brought you in."

Kakashi once again shook his head. "I know what you're thinking sir and I have to say that it's a bad idea."

"Oh? Care to explain why that is?"

"The shifter is going to be wary of anyone we put close to Naruto, the stronger they are the less likely it is that the shifter will approach. Putting Naruto on my team will most likely scare the shifter to more desperate action. Any course we choose to take from now on will need to be done with careful consideration."

"Wait, Naruto was going to be placed on your team?" Iruka asked.

"Assuming he passed my test."

"I'll take that as a no then." the chunin scoffed. "Nobody passes your test."

"Not my fault they don't embody teamwork." the silver haired jonin replied nonchalantly.

"Enough. You three will be working on capturing this shifter. I don't think we have anything to worry about for the time being, for how long is another matter entirely. So if you're not going to be the one to look over Naruto Kakashi, who would you suggest?"

Kakashi thought for a moment. "It'd have to be someone that the shifter hasn't had a chance to study. Someone who's been out of the limelight as it were. Someone who's practiced at noticing the people around them and cataloguing their behaviors. Someone who it hasn't been able to study to copy their own behavioral patterns. More importantly, someone whose strength is unknown and can be underestimated enough to draw the shifter out."

"Sounds like you want a spy looking over the boy." Elk said.

"Perhaps."

Hiruzen sat back in his chair and started going through all the ninja under his command. While more than one could have one or two of those traits Kakashi mentioned, none had all of them. Well, not none. It was just that the ones that he did have that matched that criteria were all placed in high priority positions and couldn't be spared. A dilemma to say the least. He was at a loss. His thoughts were interrupted by his intercom.

" _Sir, there's a returning operative reporting in."_

"Alright, have them wait, I'm in the middle of something right now."

" _Of course sir."_

Hiruzen quickly thought of who it could be as there weren't many field operatives that would be returning this week. After a second he remembered and an idea came to him.

"Gentlemen, I do believe that I have a solution to this problem."

* * *

 **And scene!**

So this chapter was tricky and I had to go through several rewrites and even now I'm not too happy with it. There was more I wanted to put in, but given that it's about three months since the last chapter I just wanted it out so I can move on to the next more interesting chapter. Add in life and that's why it's so late.

On to reviews!

 **Aguion12** **-** Not much I'm willing to say here, hopefully the chapter answers your questions in regards to the identity of the woman. I said this before though, this is AU Sai and has no prior connections to ROOT.

 **Dragon Man 180** \- You have a fleet of Ships don't you? Nothing wrong with that but as usual I am unable to comment fully on this for reasons. And huzzuh! Itachi is here! I'll explore more on this later, but for now yeah he's still in the village. So Sasuke isn't insane, rejoice!

 **Zoran Dawn-Eclipse** \- If it helps, I've been doing a little something to help define Ninetails a bit more as a separate character from what it was in Okami. All we knew in the game was that it was disguised as Rao for like 90% of the time we knew it and little else. All I can really say is that just take a look at the character bio and think about what possible ways I can work that into something truly diabolical. Let's just say that I have plans for the shifter.

And yup, Itachi. Not much of a twist there really.

And yes, beware the foxy ladies.

 **Apedreitor** \- And now for the newcomer, I welcome you to my self induced insanity! Personally I think I should add a little more battles, but that's only because we're 120+k words in now and it's been pretty slow. I can promise that I will most likely use the short explosive battles as opposed to long drawn out ones.

And that's alright about not really knowing the lore. It helps to keep you in the dark on the upcoming twists. And yeah, the Okami clan does seem more of a OC clan if one isn't familiar with the lore. I've already stated that this is more of a mashup than a crossover story, so the integration of the two is more in depth than most stories in the crossover genre. As for the NaruHina stuff... umm... I'm not shoving it down peoples throats... per se... If it's not obvious by now, I am planting seeds for that pairing. I do want the relationship to be there, but not like other stories where it happens ridiculously fast compared to canon. My plans are meant to allow the relationship to form faster than canon but at realistic pace. I'm doing this through Hinata's friendship with Ammako as the Okami girl replaces Naruto in many aspects for Hinata.

As for Rasu, I've been trying to base her personality off a few sources. I honestly didn't make the connection with Mito and Kushina but I can see it now, maybe with a little Tsunade thrown in there given her drinking habits.

I've worked really hard on making sure that the story flows as naturally as I can with my current story telling skills. So I'm glad that you find it serviceable. If there's one thing I won't condone in my story it is pointless bashing. As much as Kishimoto may have screwed up some of his characters, I feel that each one can serve a purpose if used correctly. Not that I'm against it, for characters like Mizuki it's unavoidable, but a good way to lose me on a story is to say that there will be bashing of certain characters as a selling point. Bashing for the sake of bashing serves no purpose beyond showing that the author is bias. A hated character can still serve the story in a meaningful way without bashing them. Negative character traits can be used to make things more interesting for both the protagonists and the story. So if you see it here, you know that I'm working an angle for good stuff, or trying to at least. Aside from that, I have been doing my best to keep everyone in character as those are the ones that people read the story for.

Glad to see my efforts on making _Mizuki_ off putting and creepy worked as intended. Just a little bit too much familiarity and affection from a character who would never show that and boom, creep city.

Glad to see that you're liking my story, I fully intend to keep it going. Looking forward to more reviews from you.

...

But yeah, Itachi's alive and in the village along with a few other Uchiha's, Hiruzen is on the hunt for a shifter, a little more interaction with the other characters. I didn't get everything I wanted for the chapter but really, I just wanted it done. I apologize if that makes the chapter seem flat, but I will make it up in the next chapter. Seriously, look forward to it, I know I am.

So until next time, Read and Review!


	14. Dear Teammates

Welcome one and all the the next installment Ink Stained Leaves! As usual, any relevant news will be down on the bottom.

I own nothing in regards to Naruto or Okami.

* * *

 **Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 14**

 **Dear Teammates**

* * *

 **.xIx.**

A lone shaft of light shone through the dim chamber, illuminating a simple stone altar. Waka stood next to it, grim determination etched on his features and a glass container in his hand. He wasn't alone, his two companions stood at his sides, looks of worry on both their faces.

"Are you sure they're ready?" asked Hayazo.

"Don't have much choice if they're not. The time has come." Waka replied somberly as he placed the container on the altar. "Nine years is going to have to suffice. Have you been practicing the procedure?"

Hayazo's only response was an unimpressed glare. Rather than give a proper reply, the old thief went to the altar and laid out several silver instruments. Waka gave a resigned sigh as he turned to his second accomplice.

"Are you ready for this Tayuya? You don't have to help, it'll just take a little longer is all."

The red headed girl shook her head. "I can help. I'm ready." she said, her voice hardened with resolve.

Waka smiled down at her reassuringly and couldn't help but think back on the little stick of a girl he found all those years ago. Tayuya had grown into a fine young woman, well, mostly. Her language at times needed some work and her fashion sense could use a little more… color. The dark grey tunic and black shorts she chose to wear didn't really befit the young musician, especially after hearing her music.

"Alright. Let's get this done." Waka said as he lay down on the altar.

"You sure you don't want the anesthesia?" Hayazo asked.

Waka shook his head. "Tradition needs to be upheld for this. Take them."

* * *

 **.xIIx.**

The classroom was abuzz with activity. It was finally the day that everyone was going to be placed in their teams. Everyone was excited to finally learn who they would be teamed up with. None more so than a certain blond.

Naruto was practically shaking in his seat as he giggled uncontrollably. Sai of course was seated next to him and though he was quiet, he also held a degree of smugness. Why wouldn't he be? Though the pale boy didn't know how Naruto managed to pull it off, he was just glad to see that his friend passed. The two sat and grinned happily. Even the questioning of Shikamaru couldn't bring Naruto down.

Aside from that though, most were too involved in their own accomplishments to take notice of Naruto's. Most. A lone girl in the back of the class took note that the blond boy was present and couldn't but feel something inside feel a little happy at seeing him there. Hinata wasn't quite sure why that was though and decided to concern herself with another dilemma. Namely where her best friend was.

Ammako herself was hurrying towards the academy as fast as she could. It really should've occurred to her that repeatedly throwing her alarm clock at the wall would eventually break it. Just her luck that it would be broken the day of team placement.

So now she was running late. Thankfully for her though, she was fast. Never before had her speed been put to the test as it was being today. The girl rushed down the village streets, dipping and weaving through foot traffic as she dodged civilians. Granted, she could have saved some time by leaping along the rooftops, but given how fast she was going, she felt it was safer to stick with the road. That and last time she took to the rooftops she had a run in with some birds who didn't take kindly to her presence, an experience she didn't wish to repeat.

Turning a corner, Ammako was glad to see the front doors of the academy come into view and she put forth an extra burst of speed. She didn't get ten meters before she had to force herself to slow down as a streak of pink and platinum got in her way.

"Back off Billboard! That seat is mine!"

"Yeah right Pig! It's mine!"

Ammako rolled her eyes once she recognized who was in front of her. Really? These guys couldn't drop their rivalry for today? It didn't really matter though, so she wasn't going to worry about it. What did bother her was the fact that they were in her way now. A spark of competitiveness ignited within the girl and she grinned as she put even more pep into her step.

Soon she was next to the two girls, who were now running cheek to cheek and glaring at each other. Ammako grinned as she got a few steps ahead of the two and managed to open the door before they rammed into it. This continued as the three ran through the halls to get to the classroom. Ammako leapt as she shot through the door and entered the room with a roll. When she came out of the tumble, she found herself a few feet away from her seat next to Hinata and pumped her fist in triumph.

Sakura and Ino entered just behind her only to stop a few feet into the room as they continued to glare at each other in, both wearing triumphant looks

"I'm first!" they both yelled in unison. They both then stood there a moment as they caught their breaths, grinning at their supposed victory. As far as Ammako was concerned, she won the race. And that's all that mattered, let them have their seat. A quick glance at the supposed prize though brought a grin to her face.

' _Or not.'_ She thought mischievously as she saw that the two seats were filled. That didn't last long though as she noticed one seat was filled with a certain shade of orange. _'What? No… He didn't.'_

A look of confusion passed over her as she turned to look and Hinata as though she could provide answer, only receive a slight shrug from the girl. She didn't know what was up either.

"Hello Ammako-chan. You're late." Hinata greeted.

"Alarm broke. And I'm not late, I got here before the bell." she replied. "Do we even need the bell anymore? Eh, not important. What are you wearing?"

She was of course asking about the heavy hooded-jacket that Hinata was currently in. "Why are you wearing that? I know that the temperature doesn't get too warm around here, but it's still summer. Aren't you hot?"

"N-not really. Besides, it has its uses." she said through puffed cheeks as she turned her head in annoyance. Ammako noticed a hint of red on Hinata's cheeks, a sign that she was flustered by something. She didn't really understand what that could have to do with her clothes, but decided that it wasn't really worth pursuing. Hinata let out a breath and her features returned to their usual kindly appearance as she cast a quick look at Ammako's outfit. "You look nice." she said.

Ammako grinned at that. "Thanks. I wanted something functional." she replied as she splayed her arms out offering Hinata a full view of her outfit.

From bottom to top she showed off her uniform. Ammako had equipped standard dark blue ninja sandals. Black capri style pants with an attached pouch on her right leg covered her legs. A red sash belt was wrapped around her waist. Though it didn't show it, the belt also had hidden pockets sewn into it which she had already filled with various ninja tools. Her top was a sleeveless white with red trim qipuo style blouse. A ninja mesh shirt could be seen near her shoulders worn underneath the blouse. Much like Hinata, she decided to wear her headband around her neck. Her hair was done up in a high ponytail, tied off with a red ribbon and she let her bangs hang loose. A comfortable style that she found kept her hair out of her face. It used to be longer, but she decided to get it trimmed a bit.

Overall she felt that it was a decent outfit for ninja activities.

"I'm not sure what you mean. What's wrong with it?"

Hinata managed to keep a stern look for only a few seconds before she burst out in a fit of giggles.

"I'm only jesting. You look nice Ammako-chan."

"Well, I don't want to look nice, I want to look awesome. You really not going to tell me why you chose a jacket? Won't it hamper your movement?"

"It's not as heavy as it looks. I can move just fine."

Ammako shrugged her shoulders in defeat, it wasn't really that important in the grand scheme of things. Before she could put more thought into it, Ammako's thoughts were distracted as a loud uproar of voices broke out.

"You're finished!" a voice yelled.

"Hey! Watch where you throw those things! No! Stop! It was an accident! Sai! Help!"

Ammako turned her attention to a few rows in front of her only to see several girls gathering around with their fists waving angrily in the air. Naruto was dodging various things being thrown at him as he also tried to avoid getting grabbed by the angry girls. Despite being called for, Sai remained in his seat, calmly sketching in his book.

Ammako had to guess that all this had something to do with why Sasuke, who now wore a look of disgust and was desperately wiping his face with his armbands. The white haired girl wasn't sure what that meant and frankly, she didn't want to know. Knowing would only lead to trouble.

Before things could get too out of hand, the front door opened and in walked Yomi followed by Onigiri and Iruka.

"Alright, everyone calm down. Take your seats please." The old Okami requested. By now most of the class fell in line fairly quick and everyone returned to their desks. Naruto nursed a couple of wounds that he received during the onslaught, none too happy that everyone got mad over an accident. He shot a glare at Sai who was still sketching.

"Fat lot of help you were. I thought we were friends."

"We may be friends, but one must learn to face the consequences of their actions." was all the reply Naruto received.

Naruto snorted as he lightly brushed a forming bruise on his face. Was Sasuke really worth this? What was so great about the guy anyway? All he did was sit in his seat and brood. Really, what did these girls see in him. He wasn't able to continue his thoughts though as Yomi-sensei started speaking again.

"As of today, you are all ninjas. To get here you have faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing, what comes next will be far more difficult." The aged instructor started with. "Now, you are only genin. First level ninjas. As I have taught all of you, each of you will now be placed into three man squads led by a jonin instructor. Now, before squads would be selected in order to balance them out and this method is still used in the other graduating classes. But seeing as how this class went through a different curriculum, you all will be assigned based off your skill set. Iruka, if you please."

The scarred chunin stepped forward, a stack of papers in his hand. "Each of you were hand-picked by the Hokage himself for these squads based off your exams. Each squad was made to perform specialized tasks. So before anyone of you get to upset about your placement, know that it was done with your strengths in mind."

So Iruka started listing off names. Naruto let his mind wander during the first few as his name was called for any of them. He heard team one announced, he wasn't in it. Neither was Sai, so there was hope that they could be on a team together. Team two, still nothing. Team three. Team four. Team five. Nothing and nothing, names he barely recognized.

"Team Six will be Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. And Okami Ammako."

This announcement garnered a violent response from many.

"What do you mean I'm on the same team as that guy?! All he does is brood!"

"You mean I have to be on the same team as him!? Oj- Sensei, how could you do this to me?"

"…"

"Grah! Why does Ammako get to be with Sasuke? She doesn't even like him!" seemed to be one of the louder vocal responses.

Iruka put his palm to his face. He really should have expected that. He remembered something similar happening when his class was placed into teams.

"What did I say? No complaining!" he said sternly. While this did get everyone to settle down once again, there was now a new feel to the air.

"Team Seven will be Hyūga Hinata. Inuzuka Kiba. And Aburame Shino."

"Team Eight will be Sai. Kuni. And Haruno Sakura."

"Team Nine is still in circulation so moving on to Team Ten. Yamanaka Ino. Nara Shikamaru. And Akimichi Choji. That's all the teams. Meet back here after lunch to meet with your jonin senseis. Dismissed."

Ammako felt her face plant hard into the desk, hard enough to send a loud thunk throughout the room. Hinata glanced over in concern as Ammako began to mutter under her breath.

"…n't know what I did to deserve this. Was it that time I took Nure's cherry cake? When I hid Tachi's sword? Maybe…"

Hinata could only give an exasperated sigh as her friend fell into despair. Wasn't much that could be done when she got like that, only real thing she could do was let it ride out.

"Gah! I can't believe I have to be on a team with you." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. "What do you even do?"

Sasuke barely responded with a tilt of his head just so he could crack open his eye in Naruto's direction.

"Does it even matter? They said that we were chosen by the Hokage himself for these teams. Just try not to be so loud and we won't have a problem."

Naruto gave a low growl in annoyance. He couldn't argue with that. Surely the Hokage knew something he didn't know that made this placement make sense. Didn't stop him from being disappointed about not being on a team with Sai. He turned to the white haired girl behind him and saw that she wasn't too happy either her face buried in her desk. While Naruto didn't have anything against the girl, he was aware of that she often got annoyed in his presence. Not always, but a fair bit of the time.

He didn't really understand why that was and he never really bothered to find out why. They were only really ever together in class with the occasional meeting outside of it. Maybe now that they were on a team he could find out why. Maybe he could turn her into a friend. He felt a little of his agitation evaporate at the thought of making another friend. Unlike Sasuke who brooded constantly, Naruto knew that Ammako had a sense of humor. Even though she often got annoyed with Naruto, he had seen her chuckle at his pranks on more than one occasion which is more than Sasuke ever did.

If he could make her laugh, he could make a friend. Feeling a little better he turned to Sai.

"So what do you think about your team?" he asked.

Sai stopped sketching as he thought of an answer. "Well, Sakura-san is well versed, she did get some of the top scores in the written tests, though her physical abilities need some work. Kuni is a lot like you in some regards, high physical capabilities and strong mental drive. His test scores are better than yours, though not by much. I haven't really interacted with either of them though so I won't be able to discern what working with them will be like."

Naruto only gave his friend a dry look. There he went using complex words again.

"You know I can't understand you when you talk like that Sai."

Sai merely shrugged off Naruto's comment as he went back to sketching.

The blond boy sighed. It was going to be a long lunch.

…

It was just past noon when everyone was back in the classroom. It wasn't long before the first five team's jonins came and left with them. That soon left only teams six through ten.

"I wonder who our jonin will be. What about you Shikamaru?" Choji asked his lifelong friend.

In usual fashion, the Nara boy took the down time they had to nap. Without cracking an eye he muttered. "Don't care. Doesn't matter who we get, my downtime gets shorter soon as they get here."

Choji shrugged a little at the response as he dug into another bag of chips.

' _I can't believe I'm stuck on a team with these nitwits.'_ Ino thought to herself. She stared disdainfully at the two boys by her and then looked towards the object of her affection. Much like Shikamaru, Sasuke had his head rested on the desk in an attempt to get some rest. She sighed heavily before she turned to her new rival.

"Why did it have to be you?" Ino asked.

Ammako, still lamenting her lot in life, turned her face towards Ino. "Been asking that question for the past hour."

"Buh, seriously. Out of every other girl in class, the one who gets to be on his team is one of two who don't even like him. What are the odds?"

"Are you still on about that? You know I don't care about that kind of stuff. Why not feel sorry for me, I'm on a team with the bringer of disaster. So troublesome."

"Hey! That's my line." Shikamaru's muffled voice responded.

It was at that moment that the front door opened and revealed the lithe form of one Okami Nure. Taking a step into the room, she cast a sweeping glance around the room before saying, "Team Eight, you're with me."

She left the room but remained in the hall as Sakura, Sai, and Kuni followed her. Ammako couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at seeing Sai walk out with the pinkette. While she knew that Sakura only had eyes for Sasuke, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy and jealousy. Still, it was a surprise to see that Nure as a sensei. She wondered when that happened.

"Wasn't that your aunt?" Ino asked.

"She's more of a cousin than an aunt. Also, don't let her ever catch you calling her an aunt, she doesn't take it well."

"Oh, I'm sure she's not that bad."

"You're right, she's worse." was the flat response.

Ino was about to say something when the door opened again. Ino turned her gaze to it just in time to witness as a god stepped into the room. Tall, impeccable skin, handsome, amazing hair. Ino's vision went blurry as now all she could see was this Adonis before her.

"OK! What the frig! First Nure, now you Moe? When did you guys become jonin senseis?" Ammako yelled out in confusion.

"Shut your trap brat! I've got my reasons! Team Ten, move it!" Moe shouted before he left the room not bothering to wait for his team. Ino seemed to momentarily shut down after seeing the male Okami. She swiftly turned on Ammako, a fanatic look in her eyes.

"Ohgoshohgosh! Who is that?" Ino frantically asked Ammako.

Ammako gave Ino a confused stare. "That was Moe, another cousin. He's almost as bad as Nure."

"How have I not seen him before? He's gorgeous!"

"Uhh… you should really get going, Shikamaru and Choji are already gone and Moe doesn't like it when people are late."

Ino didn't need any more prodding than that as she quickly left her seat and ran out of the room.

Ammako could only stare in fascination as the platinum blonde girl sped off. One would think she would be used to this kind of behavior. Most women tended to react much the same way as Ino whenever Moe was around. And yet, every time it happened she was still just as amazed as the prior time. Granted she never thought that someone as young as Ino would fall into the same pit.

"Oh, she's not going to be happy when she finds out what a slave driver he can be." she chuckled. Ammako cast a quick glance around the room now that there were three fewer people present. Teams Six and Eight were the only ones that remained. She would've talked with Hinata, but the Hyūga girl was currently chatting with Shino. Most likely getting to know her new teammate better. Meaning that left two people that she didn't want to speak with and one who didn't speak with anybody.

So returned Ammako's greatest enemy, boredom.

She rested her head on the desk and let her gaze drift out the window. It looked like it was going to be a bit longer.

* * *

 **.xIIIx.**

Sakura wasn't sure how she should be feeling right now. On the one hand, she wasn't on a team with Sasuke. On the other, neither was Ino. If there was anyone who she couldn't feel bad about him being in a team with, it was Ammako. The girl didn't seem the least bit interested in the Uchiha boy, much to the relief of many of the girls in class. What chance would they have against her? She was an heiress to a popular clan within the village even though they were a newer one comparatively. Ammako was smart, the Okami girl read just as much if not more than she herself did, they even scored similarly on their tests. More than that though, she was pretty. That white hair and pale flawless skin. Those piercing hazel colored eyes. If her mother was anything to go by, Ammako was going to grow into a true beauty.

Sakura couldn't help but raise a hand to her forehead, a part of herself that she was more than a little self-conscious about. Despite that though, the Okami girl didn't flaunt her status or looks, if anything she preferred not to draw attention and remain inconspicuous. Sakura couldn't imagine why this was, but was grateful regardless as it meant that she had one less rival to deal with.

So it was a good thing that Ammako didn't feel the same way about Sasuke as the other girls. Still, Sakura wished that it had been her on his team. Though, if she was then that would also mean she would be on a team with Naruto. She didn't quite know how she should feel about that. Heaven and Hell in the same room.

"Hello? Haruno-san? You in there?" a voice asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Sakura snapped out of her head and found that the group had arrived at their destination. Looking around, Sakura saw that they were now in a park on the edge of the village. Why they were here she could only guess.

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking." she said as she turned her attention to their new sensei.

"Alright, just making sure. You kind of had that faraway look going on there." Nure said as she motioned for the group to stop.

"Alright. I'm willing to bet that at least one of you three will be able to guess why we're here." Nure asked.

Sakura was pretty sure that she knew, but hesitated. In that second, Sai was the one to speak first.

"I imagine Sensei, that we are here to as a means to introduce ourselves to one another privately to foster strong bonds." The pale boy stated.

Sakura couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at that. Sure it sounded textbook the way he worded it, but the flat tone he used made it sound all kinds of wrong. Apparently Nure felt similarly as she had an odd look on her face.

"Yes, well, not quite as intimate as your statement would imply, but that is why we're here. I guess I'll start us off. I'm Okami Nure. I've only recently been promoted to Jonin. Some of my likes are dancing, tea ceremonies, writing, and bird watching. There isn't much that I dislike, but I can guarantee you that you will know when it's present. My dream is to one day see my family brought back together. Now then, which of you will go next?"

As it was again, Sakura hesitated while Kuni stood back, leaving Sai to once again respond first.

"I'm Sai. I became a Genin last week. My hobbies are painting, drawing, people watching, and hanging out with my friend. I'm not sure what my dislikes are, I haven't really been inconvenienced enough to develop a dislike of something. My dream… I haven't really thought about that one." he said in his usual flat tone.

Kuni beat Sakura to the next introduction, already talking just as Sai finished.

"My name is Kuni. Remember it, because everyone in the village, no, the world is going to." He started confidently, he wooden sword held against his shoulder. "I'm going to be known far and wide as the greatest warrior of all time along with my trusty sword Tohenboku. My likes include training and a certain village girl. I have many dislikes, if I listed them we'd be here all day. My dream is to one day be the greatest warrior in the land."

' _Training? Does he mean those naps he calls meditating?'_ Sakura thought. Seriously, the kid napped almost as much as Shikamaru. Not that she had time to really think about it, it was her turn after all.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. Um… I also just became a Genin. What I like uhh… the person I like is…" she started.

"Ugh! Skip. We all know who you like! Move it on!" Kuni complained.

"Kuni! That wasn't very polite!" Nure chastised.

"Yeeah, no. We spent six years hearing her fawn over that Uchiha kid. I'm sick of it! I don't need to hear it here too!"

"And yet you yourself chose to voice your interest in the opposite sex as well" Sai countered.

"And I bet that it surprised you. I may like a girl but at least I don't gush about it every second of the day!"

"Fine! I'll move on! Yeesh. My hobbies are… umm…" _'Crud.'_

Kuni let out an exasperated sigh and put his palm to his face.

"My dream is to one day be a wife to …" Sakura felt her face grow warm as she allowed herself a moment of blissful daydreaming.

"You see what I mean? She always gets like this!"

"… I see. Well, we're going to have to work on that." Nure said, somewhat understanding what Kuni was talking about. "Well, now that we're acquainted, let's get to the point of why we're here today."

"I thought that we were getting to know each other." Sakura said.

"Well, that's one thing. Care to guess the true reason though?"

Once again, Sai was the first to speak. "I imagine that this is a final estimate of our abilities on whether or not we're ready to actually be on this team."

"What!?" both Sakura and Kuni shouted. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, obviously graduating is only the first step to becoming a genin. A final test administered by our Jonin-sensei would determine that we're truly ready."

' _How in the world did he come to that conclusion?'_

"Huh. While I wouldn't have worded quite that way, he's not wrong. I do have to give you guys a final test to see if you're worthy of becoming a genin. I'm going to be honest though, you survived training under both Yomi-san and Onigiri-sensei. As far as I'm concerned, you guys deserve to be genin. But rules are rules, I have to administer something." Nure told them.

"So… what are we going to do?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Eh, show me what you're capable of and that should be enough." Nure turned to Sai. "Since you seem happy to be first, why don't you show me what you got?"

The white haired sensei fell into a battle stance and gestured for Sai to come at her. "Show me your strength."

Sai nodded and fell into a stance himself as he pulled out a brush and scroll. Sakura was now curious as she had yet to see the boy fight outside of spars where there were strict rules in place. She had heard that Sai used an odd style of fighting. Did it have something to do with the brush and scroll?

Her question was soon answered as after a second he unrolled his scroll and ran his brush through it lightning fast. As soon as his brush left the surface of the parchment, a beast of ink leapt of the page and charged at Nure.

' _Is that a lion? He drew it so fast!'_

The ink lion soon reached Nure and lashed out, though the strike was in vain as she easily dodged it. Nure retaliated with a swift chop to the ink creature's neck, effectively dispelling it.

"Inkcredible. Did Yomi-san teach you that one? Super Beast Imitating Drawing yes?"

' _Wait… did she just say… No, I must've misheard.'_

Sai merely nodded as he finished another drawing, this time a snake. This time rather than going for a straight assault it started to dart swiftly around Nure trying to find an avenue of attack. Once it seemed to find it, it lashed out, only to be met with a kunai to the face.

"Not bad, but it needs more work. You're not focusing enough will into your creations. That said, I haven't seen anyone so young with this level of skill. That'll be enough. Kuni, you're up."

Sai gave a quick bow of reconciliation and walked to the side. Kuni took his place and immediately entered a fighting stance, his sword held in both hands.

"Kenjutsu? Didn't think they taught that in the academy." Nure commented.

"Self-taught. Now, behold my own personal creation! Exploding Implosion!" Kuni brought Tohenboku to his side as though it were a katana.

"Iaidō?" Nure said, a bit surprised.

She got no answer though as Kuni rushed forward surprisingly quick as he swung the wooden sword in a wide arc. Nure dodged at the last second, deftly moving out of the swords dangerous path. Though it struck nothing, it still caused a small windstorm to form. Dust and dirt were lifted from the ground and obscured that area around the two for a couple seconds.

Sakura was about to step forward to see what was going on when the two burst of the dust cloud, Nure in retreat with Kuni hot on her tail. As soon as Nure touched down, Kuni went in with a vertical slash, aimed directly on top of the white haired woman. Once again though, she easily avoided the strike. The wooden blade slammed into the ground and cleaved straight into the soil. The shockwave produced sent even more earth and dust into the air, though it was quickly blown away as he pulled the sword free and swung it behind him.

"Alright, you can stop now." Nure ordered and the boy had to shake his head a bit before he lowered his blade and gave a curt bow. "That was impressive. You say that you're self-taught?"

"Yeah. There wasn't really anyone who was willing to teach me, so I had to learn myself."

"You're a little rough, but that can be taken care of easily enough. But first, Sakura, it's your turn."

Sakura froze in place. How was she supposed to able to top that? Both boys had shown skills that no one in class had learned. More than that, they seemed to be pretty strong in their chosen arts. What did she have? She only learned what was taught in class, so academy basic and the three jutsu. Though she passed with high marks, this was something entirely different. How was she going to impress anyone with that?

"I… I…" her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. "I don't have anything."

"Really? Nothing?" Nure questioned. Sakura gave a defeated nod. It was all she could do. "Well, that's bad news then I'm afraid. I need all three of you to pass or none of you do. I'm sorry."

Sai and Kuni went to Sakura's sides and helped to lift her up. Kuni looked absolutely livid at this turn of events while Sai for the first time actually cracked his eyes open a centimeter more than they were.

"What!? What kind of crap is that!?" Kuni yelled.

"I agree. This doesn't seem to be a fair assessment of our skills, let alone hers."

"No kidding. So what if Sakura isn't a powerhouse? She did better in the tests than either of us. She deserves this as much as anyone!"

Nure watched as the two boys stood next to their teammate. Despite the fact that she was responsible for their current situation, they were still willing to stand next to and defend her. Even though there seemed to be some discontent earlier, they didn't let it hold them back.

"Well, this is a surprise. Well I've seen everything I need to. Pass."

Almost immediately the angry vanished from Kuni and Sai actually looked confused. Sakura's head shot up quickly, a look of surprise on her face.

"What?" all three asked.

"This was never about how strong you three are. It was whether or not you'd be willing to form together as a team. Despite there being obvious animosity between all of you, the boys were still willing to stand next to you. Though it's still a far cry from where you need to be, it's a start, and that's all I need." Nure told the three. "That said though, each of you need a lot of work. Sai, while I'm not sure quite yet where you need improvement, it wouldn't hurt to bolster and expand what you know. Kuni, you may be strong and while your use of iaidō did surprise me, you swing that hunk of wood around like a hammer. A sword should be handled more elegantly. I may not be the best swordswoman around, but I know a few people that should be able to help. Sakura, we'll work on giving you something to call your own. What's important right now is broadening your skillset. You may have gotten top marks on the written tests, but you're in a new world now, one that requires physical might to succeed in. Nothing wrong with knowledge, but you'll find that it won't be enough." Nure eased her posture and gave the three a proud smile. "Welcome to Team Eight."

* * *

 **.xIVx.**

' _Troublesome.'_

He may have used the word to the point of it losing all meaning, but Shikamaru had yet to find another word that could adequately replace his old catchphrase. How could he? It covered so much and could be used in just about any situation. Take right now for instance.

The day had started out well enough, only for it to swiftly go downhill as soon as team placements were announced. Sure he was on a team with Choji, but he was now also on a team with… her. Granted, Ino wasn't that bad, usually. But given who their sensei was and how Ino reacted to him, the Nara boy wasn't holding out hope that things wouldn't get weird. In fact, things were already looking and sounding a bit off kilter. He cast a glance to what was currently going on.

Choji in his usual fashion didn't seem all the perturbed about the current situation, he merely continued munching on his bag of chips. Ino was star struck, for once actually quiet as she grinned moronically with sparkles in her eyes as she looked at the back of their sensei. Moe-sensei didn't seem all the affected by this, he just kept walking to where ever their destination was. They had traveled a bit out of the village into a grassy field when he finally motioned for them to stop. The three lined up side by side and Ino actually managed to wipe that silly look off her face.

Turning to face them, the white haired sensei gave them all a quick once over.

"Alright scrubs, I will be your jonin sensei until you all move on to chunin. I'm Okami Moe. Don't bother with introductions, I've gone through your files and know that all of your dads are good friends with each other. So I'm going to guess that you guys are already well acquainted. Now, let's get down to brass tacks. You all have just graduated and are looking forward to spending the next couple of years as genin before moving on to grander things."

A round of affirmation from the three former academy students.

"Well, sorry to burst your collective bubbles, but you got one more step to take before that happens."

The response was as expected, Ino blanched and quickly became confused. Choji shrugged his shoulders and popped another chip into his mouth. Shikamaru of course muttered what he usually did when things became more complicated.

"What do you mean we have one more thing to do? What else is there?" Ino questioned.

Moe grinned, something that sent alarm bells ringing in Shikamaru's head.

"Well, village tradition dictates that the jonin sensei administer a final test to see if their genin are truly ready to become active ninja. The test is up to the jonin." Moe explained. "Personally I think that training with Onigiri-sensei should qualify but I was overruled. So now you guys get to see what I have in mind."

As soon as he was done talking he bit into his thumb, made a swift series of hand seals, and then slammed one hand to the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Two large puffs of smoke popped into existence, obscuring the vision of everyone present. Shikamaru had brought his arms up to protect his face instinctively and squinted his eyes as the smoke reached him. As it was, he didn't see how the other two reacted, though he imagined that it was something similar to what he did. It took a few seconds for the air to clear and when it did, well, no one but Moe was expecting what was there.

Standing before the genin were two large chickens garbed in what appeared to be pieces of houses fashioned into crude armor. The weapons they carried however were of quality make, one bearing a large axe and the other armed with a war hammer. Both had brown and white feathers, though their patterns were very different from the other. As soon as the smoke was clear, they looked around until their eyes fell on Moe.

"Moe-san. It has been a while since you've called upon us. How may we be of service today?" The left most one asked.

Moe smiled as he approached the two and raised his hand in greeting. "Baba. Yaga. Good to see you two still kicking. Sorry to bother you, but I need some help with evaluating my genin here. I need the scroll."

Baba and Yaga turned to look at each other, as if trying to figure something out.

"Just so we're clear, you mean _that_ scroll, yes?" Yaga asked.

"Yes, _that_ scroll."

"As you wish." Baba said as it pulled out a small scroll from a pouch at its side. Small compared to itself, when handed to Moe it was considerably larger.

"Alright, thanks. You two can take off for now. I'll summon you once I'm done with this."

"Then we shall take our leave. Until next time Moe-san." With that the two summoned creatures vanished as they came, in a puff of smoke.

Still wearing his smile, Moe turned back to the three genin while slinging the scroll over his shoulder.

"Alright, let's get this party started."

"Umm, Sensei? What was that?"

Moe looked perplexed at the question. "A summoning jutsu, what else would it be? As for this…" he gestured to the scroll, "… I'll be using this to determine whether or not you three are ready."

Shikamaru watched as Moe unraveled the scroll and quickly scanned through it until he found what he was looking for. The Nara heir carefully studied the scroll trying to figure out what was so special about it. From what he saw, it looked like the kanji on it were similar to the ones that appeared when he first summoned the large chickens. Another summoning?

"So what is our task then?" he asked.

Moe smiled again as he found what he was looking for and looked back at the three.

"Simple. Survive."

With that, he took his still bleeding thumb and rubbed it against the scroll. Instead of the summoning call though he instead said, "Kai!"

Another puff of smoke, this one many times larger than the ones that appeared with Baba and Yaga. Survive. That's what they were told to do. Naturally after hearing something like that Shikamaru had prepped himself and leapt back before the smoke could get to him. Thankfully he saw that the other two had responded in kind, all three landed safely outside the smokes radius.

"Alright, be ready for anything." he told the others. "There's no telling what he just released."

Ino and Choji both nodded as they each pulled out a kunai. Shikamaru followed suit and pulled out his own blade. All three tensed as the smoke slowly cleared. Based off the size of the cloud when it appeared, whatever was within it had to be huge.

He looked at the top of the cloud trying to see if he could determine what they were up against. More and more of the cloud began to vanish as a breeze swept in until there wasn't much left. Shikamaru tensed as the cloud shrunk and still nothing appeared.

' _Did it get out and flank us?'_ he thought as he scanned around. Nothing. It was only when he heard soft clucking noises that he turned back to what remained of the smoke. A last gust of wind blew away the final remnants of cover, revealing… a regular sized chicken.

Granted, it didn't look like any kind of chicken that the Nara boy had ever seen. Its head was larger and rounder, it's eyes large and clueless, and its feathers pure white and fluffier than a regular chicken. If he had to use one word to describe it he would have said… cute. It was very, very cute. Adorable even. He was pretty sure he could take it home and use it on his mother to get out of whatever chore it was she wanted him to do that day. She would smother it with all kinds of affection, thoroughly distracting her from him.

But that was a sure sign that he should remain wary of it. It was released with the intention to cause them trouble, to underestimate now would be a mistake. So imagine his chagrin when he heard a loud squeal next to him.

"IT'S SO CUTE!" Ino squealed in a high pitched voice as she ran up to it. Before Shikamaru could say anything, the girl had already picked up the small bird and held it in a death cuddle.

' _Of course…'_ Shikamaru thought, he really should have expected this. "Choji, don't let your guard down. There's no telling what this thing… Choji?"

He had turned to better plan with the Akimichi boy, only to find that his friend wasn't there. A low grumbling noise drew his attention back to Ino and the chicken. There he saw Choji walking towards them in a daze, the grumbling a sign that the boy was hungry.

"…food…" Choji muttered as he continued to step forward.

' _Crap!'_

Before Shikamaru could act, Choji had already made it to the girl and bird. Something was definitely up, neither of these two would be acting like this normally. Choji may be hungry but never eat a live bird hungry. And Ino… well, she could very well be acting within character here. Maybe she did cuddle every cute animal she came across, how was he supposed to know? But Choji was definitely acting strange here.

"What are you doing Choji? Hey! Stop it!" Ino yelled as the round boy reached out and attempted to grab the bird from her. She tugged back but failed to loosen his grip on it. "Don't you dare hurt to poor thing you gluttonous idiot!"

So resulted a tug of war between the two with the chicken in the middle. Shikamaru remained ready for anything though and tried to figure out what to do next. Those two obviously didn't realize things were not as they seemed. Genjutsu perhaps? He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Guys, it might not be the best idea to get close to that thing."

Ino shot a glare at Shikamaru. "What are you on about? It's harmless. Now get over here and help me keep Choji from deep frying it."

"Yeah, no. I'm staying over here." From where he was, Shikamaru could see that the little tug of war over the chicken was clearly not to its liking. It had started to flap its wings and kick out its tiny legs in distress. It soon appeared to have had enough and let out a loud crow that echoed across the field.

' _That… can't be good.'_

Sure enough, he was right. As soon as the echo faded, more poofs of smoke appeared on the edges of the clearing. The smoke soon cleared, revealing even more of the birds, all of them identical to the one being manhandled. At least those two stopped fighting when it let out its cry.

Things were quiet for a short while as the army of birds looked at the three in the center. Nothing moved. Then the first bird let out another crow. Shikamaru didn't have to speak to animals to know what that meant. Attack.

Sure enough, that's exactly what they did as they all flew off at once and bee lined straight for the three genin.

Shikamaru resigned himself to his fate and muttered, "So troublesome."

* * *

 **.xVx.**

A couple hours had passed and still no other jonins had shown up. So far the only ones who weren't bothered by this were the two girls remaining, having a chat in their own little corner of the room. Sasuke couldn't help but count his lucky stars that of all the girls he could've been stuck with, it was the Okami. Not that he was going to admit that to anyone, let alone her. Still, at least she wasn't going to fawn over him.

That said, he wasn't sure how he should take to his other teammate. Sasuke shot a glance at what the other boy was currently up to. Given how much time had passed, Naruto had reached the end of his patience long ago and was desperately trying to find anything to occupy his time with.

Half an hour ago the blond had started out by setting up a simple trap of a drop down board cleaner on the door. After ten minutes with no one showing up, he had added a tack to the handle. Twenty minutes and he set up a string at the bottom of the door that was meant to trigger another trap. What that trap was Sasuke had lost interest in, so he didn't know what was going to happen when the door was opened. Right now, Naruto appeared to be setting up something that involved a broom, several sheets of paper, tape, a loose floorboard, and small bird.

' _Where did he even get the bird?'_ Sasuke wondered. _'Why would he even need… No, better I not know.'_

Turning his attention away from Naruto, he gazed around. The girls continued their conversation. Kiba seemed to be in a heated argument with his ninken over something. And Shino remained as still and silent as ever. So Naruto was the only one of interest to spectate, though what he was doing had gotten old sometime ago. So he decided to once again stare out the window.

Not that there was really anything new to see there either considering he had spent the past few years staring out of it. Most people didn't bother him when he did it though, all the more reason to do it. He rested his chin in one hand while looking out in the open air. Without really thinking about it, his other hand started to twiddle with the item he kept around his neck. Despite the memories the bauble brought forth, he couldn't bring himself to leave it behind whenever he left the house. Call him paranoid, but he couldn't shake the feeling of something happening to it when he wasn't around.

Looking again at what Naruto was up to, he found the bird had gotten loose and was now angrily pecking at Naruto's head. The boy himself tried desperately to recapture the creature, but to no avail. The feathered fiend soon seem satisfied with its revenge though and flew away from the boy, only to land on a certain white haired girl's head.

"Umm…. What." was her response.

It seemed that everyone noticed the bird and its chosen nesting spot. It didn't take long for someone to comment on it.

"HAHAHA! Look Akamaru! She really is a birdbrain!" Kiba laughed once he saw the bird land. Akamaru didn't seem as entertained though and let out a yawn.

Even Hinata couldn't stifle a laugh as she tried to hide a grin and failed miserably at it. "It seems you've added another one to your collection Ammako-chan."

Shino remained as unperturbed as ever.

Naruto only seemed annoyed at the bird and glared at it. "Traitor." he grumbled.

Kiba seemed to have noticed what Hinata had said though. "Wait, this has happened before?"

"Y-yes, animals find Ammako irresistible all the time. Yesterday she had two squirrels perch on her shoulders and the day before that a dove followed her around for nearly an hour before she could shake it." Hinata giggled. "Animals love her."

"Well, I wish they would find someone else to bother. How I am supposed to be a ninja when animals are always following me around?"

Before anything more could be said, the door opened. All heads turned to face whoever had just stepped in and found a silver haired man standing in the entrance, a little chalk dust present in the air. It seemed that whatever the string was meant for didn't seem to work. Time seemed to stand still for a second as everyone held their breath. That was all broken though when Naruto busted out laughing.

"Hahahahaha! I got him! He totally fell for it! Hahahaha" he managed to get out between giggles.

Sasuke was less than impressed however. This was supposed to be a jonin and he fell for such a simple trap?

From the looks of everyone else, it appeared they shared his sentiment. Ammako looked flabbergasted. Hinata seemed to be in a mild state of panic. Kiba was trying desperately to hold back a laugh, and while he was succeeding, his face was red. Shino… was Shino. The newcomer though, didn't look the least bit… anything really. He looked down at the guilty eraser, bent over and picked it up. He inspected it for a second before making a quick scan of the room. Only after he had taken note of everyone present did he say something.

"Team Seven, meet me on the roof in two minutes." the man said curtly. With that, he was gone in a swirl of leaves.

Everyone but Naruto remained stunned for a moment, by now the boy was on the ground still giggling. That was his reaction? No reprimands? No lecture? It was only when Shino stood to leave that the others snapped out of it.

"I guess I'm going now. See you later Ammako." Hinata told her friend as she followed Shino out with Kiba and Akamaru following right after.

Naruto had recovered at this point and wiped a tear from his eye as he picked himself up off the ground.

"Oh man, that was great. Never actually had that one work before."

"How did that even work? That trap could be seen from outside the village walls!" Ammako wailed. Her world view took a shift at that. Jonin were supposed to be the best of the best, to fall for such a simple trap didn't mesh well with that image.

While Ammako had her breakdown, Sasuke worked out what he just witnessed internally.

' _She's not wrong. For someone to actually fall for that doesn't seem real. It's almost as if he triggered that on purpose. Seems likely seeing as how toe string trap didn't trigger.'_

Sasuke looked down at where the string was and noticed that it had been snipped and taped in place. The trap had been sabotaged. By who though and when? When was easy, most likely when they all had eyes on the bird when it landed on Ammako's head. Who was the real question. None of the genin would have done it, they were all accounted for. Someone else was here.

With that thought, Sasuke's training kicked in as he sent his senses into overdrive. Rookie mistake not having them going earlier. Wait, that wasn't it. He always checked the surrounding area every few minutes and had picked up nothing. Now though, he sensed something behind him. Turning around he was surprised to see a man sitting there, taking notes.

Ammako noticed Sasuke move and turned her gaze to the man as well and let out a startled yelp. With that, Naruto also noticed the guy. Naturally this led to him being the first to say something.

"What the crap? When did you get here? And who are you?"

The man said nothing and continued writing things down. This gave Sasuke as chance to study him. The man was for lack of a better word, plain. Plain face, plain black hair, plain build. Plain. The only thing that really stood out about him was the jonin outfit he was wearing. Though the flak jacket and uniform underneath it were standard, the color of the uniform wasn't. Rather than the usual blue-grey color, it was a faded purple. The other thing Sasuke noticed was a tattered green bandana tied around the man's neck. Finally was the sword on his back and the one on his right hip, that last one standing out because of the brush tip on the pommel.

It was only once Sasuke had taken in the man's appearance that he finished up his notes.

"Well, I have to say, you guys certainly know how to underwhelm."

'…' Sasuke thought.

"Hey! I know you! Ka-chan has a picture of you at the house!" was Ammako's response. "Though, you look really young in it…"

Naruto on the other hand didn't take being ignored very well.

"I asked you question man!"

"You asked two actually. Who I am and when I got here. Well, I'm Pon Issun to answer your first question. For the second, I've been here the whole time. Gotta say, not that impressed with everything I've seen." he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

He turned to look directly at Naruto. "You've proven to be impatient and prone to distraction. Not a good sign should we ever have to perform a stakeout. Creative perhaps, needs to be refined to better perform in the field."

He looked at Sasuke. "Collected, though to a fault at times. Unwillingness to get to know future teammates, also a problem but can be worked on. Have yet to actually see anything that can't be corrected."

Finally he looked at Ammako. "Have yet to determine where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Further observation is required."

With that he seemed satisfied with his assessment as he put his notebook away. After that his entire demeanor changed. He became more relaxed, less stern and stiff.

"Alright, first impressions aside, I'm pretty sure that I can make this team work. As I said, I'm Issun. Feel free to call me that, sensei is a bit much to be honest. Not too big on honorifics either. Now then, follow me outside and we can get this show on the road." With that said, he got up and made his way out of the room.

Given how much time they had spent in the room, the three wasted no time in leaving the room.

* * *

 **.xVIx.**

Hinata followed her teammates closely as they made their way up to the roof of the school building. Kiba of course was the most excited about getting, so he was hurrying along as fast as he could, Akamaru hot on his heels. Shino, though less enthusiastic, was rushing along as well, only a few paces behind the canine duo. Hinata felt most comfortable bringing up the rear. She was still trying to process everything that was going on. She was aware that the odds of her being on the same team as Ammako were slim, didn't stop her from feeling a bit disappointed. The two had been together since they were babies if what her mom told her was true. Given the sisterly bond the two shared, she didn't even attempt to deny that claim.

What was most pressing right now though, was that of her teammates. While she had been in the same class as them for the past six years, she didn't really know them all that well. Aside from what she could discern from their surface personalities that is. Kiba was obviously a bit of a hothead and impulsive. Beyond that she only knew that he loved his ninken more than anything else.

Shino was a little harder to figure out as he never said more than was needed and kept most his facial features hidden behind his sunglasses and the collar of his coat. Aside from knowledge about the boy's clan, Hinata didn't know much about the boy himself. If they were going to be on a team together, that was going to have to change.

It was only when she saw that they had reached the door to the roof that she was broken from her thoughts. Kiba rammed headlong into the door bar and burst through. The other two were right behind him and made it through before it shut. Hinata slowed as soon as her feet touched the surface of the building, though she saw that Kiba had no intention of slowing at all. Shino, being the one right behind the Inuzuka boy, reached out a hand and grabbed him before he ran off the side. Kiba spun around, ready to chastise the Aburame, only for an amused cough to interrupt him.

Hinata turned to the sound and saw Kakashi sitting on the edge, an orange covered book in his hands. She felt the presence of the two boys walk up to her sides. Once they were all in front of the silver haired man did he put away his book and look at them.

"You made it on time. At least you can follow orders. Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time." he said in a bored tone.

Hinata didn't know what to think of the man. He was even harder to read than Shino, with the bottom half of his face covered with a blue mask and his left eye hidden behind his headband. Aside from that, he was dressed as any other jonin within the village. From a body language standpoint he gave nothing away, still holding a relaxed and aloof stance.

"Introduce ourselves how precisely might I ask?" Shino asked. "We have only just met you and you haven't even introduced yourself to us."

The jonin gestured with his hands a bit as he said, "Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that." he finished as he crossed his arms.

Kiba seemed more than a little annoyed at this response. "How about you start us off. Since you haven't even told us your name yet."

"Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future… never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies."

All three genin were left addled at that. Really? All he really did was tell them his name. They exchanged a look of disbelief among themselves. Well, Hinata and Kiba did, Shino's expression went unseen by anyone.

"Ok, your turn. You on the right, you first." Kakashi directed towards Kiba.

"Uh, I'm Inuzuka Kiba. I like my partner Akamaru here." he started off, Akamaru barking happily in reply. "Aside from that, I like beef, steak, jerky, and cartilage. I hate losing and cats. For the future… I guess being top dog wouldn't be bad. Yeah, I'm going to be Hokage. Akamaru and I go walking everyday as a hobby I guess." Another bark from Akamaru in confirmation.

Kakashi gave the boy a bored look before turning his attention to Shino. "Alright, next."

"Aburame Shino. I enjoy raising my kikaichu bugs. I suppose that also counts as my hobby. I like salads made with wild herbs, I also enjoy a good winter melon. Don't particularly like foods with strong smells. I one day hope to discover a new breed of insect."

"…. Last one." Kakashi muttered.

"I-I'm Hyūga Hinata. I like foods with cinnamon, especially cinnamon rolls or my mom's cinnamon sugar mochi. I also like hanging out with my best friend Ammako. I don't like the separation that exists between my family members. Umm… I press flowers as a hobby. I one day hope to close the distance between the main and branch families of the Hyūga clan."

Now that all the genin had introduced themselves, Kakashi gave them all another onceover before saying, "Good, you're all unique and have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"Sweet! Our first mission! What are we doing? Taking on some bandits? Spy mission?" Kiba asked, Akamaru barking along with his questions.

"It's a task… that we'll be doing together." was all the silver haired jonin told them.

Hinata wasn't sure if it was just her, but it almost sounded as though Kakashi-sensei was being coy about something. She wasn't the only one it seemed, as Shino spoke up.

"That seems more than a little misleading Sensei." the stoic boy said.

"… It's a survival exercise."

That answered nothing. Hinata started to tap her finger tips together out of nervousness. There was something going on here that didn't sit well. While she and Shino seemed to be picking up on it, Kiba remained oblivious to it.

"You hear that Akamaru? A survival exercise! We're going to dominate!" he cheered.

Shino didn't seem all that happy with the explanation. "This sounds like more training Sensei. What reason would we have to do that for?"

"I-I agree with Shino. We did our training at the academy, it's how we got here."

Only now did Kiba begin to get the same feeling that the other two had felt. "Huh, they're right. What the heck Sensei? What do we need more training for?"

Kakashi started to chuckle now, the first real show of emotion all afternoon.

"What's so funny?" Kiba asked indignantly.

Kakashi chuckled a bit more as he said, "If I answer, you won't like it." Upon saying that, while his demeanor never changed, an air of seriousness now surrounded the man. "Of the twenty-seven graduates that came here, it's most likely that only nine will be accepted as genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. This is a make it or break it test and the chance that you'll fail are at least sixty-six percent."

His words hit the three like a slap to the face. Hinata's eyes opened wide as she brought her hands to cover her mouth. Shino, despite the glasses and high collar, was clearly distressed as his bugs started buzzing loudly. Kiba took it the hardest, his eyes and mouth now hanging open in terror. Akamaru sat at Kiba's feet and let out a low whine.

"This is how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training ground tomorrow at five AM and bring your ninja gear." Kakashi said, his tone almost angry. "That's will be all for today, dismissed. Oh, tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else you'll puke."

* * *

 **.xVIIx.**

"Alright, this looks like a good spot." Issun spun around to look at his new students. "Let's get down to business."

After being led outside the main part of the village, the three genin found themselves on a distant training ground where their new sensei just announced the goal. Hopefully there would be some reason as to why they came all the way out here.

Naruto was of course the first to comment on this, "Finally, are we out here for some awesome training?! Oo oo! Or are we out here for a mission?" the boy shouted as he jumped up in excitement.

Issun stared at the boy for a few seconds before turning to the other two. Sasuke turned away while Ammako hung her head in minor agitation.

"Uh, no. We're not here for that." Issun told Naruto.

"Well then what are we out here for?"

"Mostly because the roof was taken." muttered the Pon as he grew a little more stoic as he looked away from them and at the edge of the nearby trees, almost as if he were searching for something. Satisfied with… whatever it was he was looking for he turned his gaze back to them.

"Well, to be honest, I originally brought you out here to perform your true genin test…" was all he got out before the genin interrupted him.

"What do you mean final test!?"

"I thought we did all that at the academy!"

"…"

They continued to voice their displeasure for another minute or so before they calmed down. "You done?"

A round of nods, though Naruto's was reluctant.

"Now, before you all gave into righteous indignation, what I was saying is that I am supposed to administer a final test. Was being the key word here."

"So, you're… not… going to test us?" Ammako asked, a mixture of relief and disappointment.

"Not in the traditional sense no. I don't believe a ninja's worth is measured in a single action. The only way I'm ever going to know whether you guys are worthy to wear those headbands is to watch you work. So, consider yourselves on a probationary period until further notice." Issun said with an air authority that had hadn't possessed previously.

A stunned silence from all three, well, Ammako and Naruto. Sasuke was almost always quiet.

"So then, why are we out here?" Ammako asked.

Issun hesitated on an answer, something both Ammako and Sasuke took note of. "Well, privacy mostly. It wouldn't do if anyone else knew that I just let your test slide. The Hokage is aware of my stance and permitted it, but the other genin and jonin may not take kindly to it."

The jonin paused for a moment before he continued. "While we're here, I suppose we can introduce ourselves. I already told you my name, so how about we start with your names and share a little about ourselves? I'll start. I enjoy painting and taking long walks. I don't particularly like tradition or people who are too rigid. I one day hope to settle down and marry. Simple right? Now one of you."

A little hesitation at first, but then Ammako spoke up, "I'm Okami Ammako. I like to read and train. I dislike loud people and being bored. I aim to be the best kunoichi that I can be and to one day prove to be a capable clan leader."

Issun nodded in approval, "Alright that was good. Now, who's next?" He looked at the boys and pointed at Sasuke. "You."

The Uchiha boy gave a disinterested stare before he started speaking. "Uchiha Sasuke. Haven't really thought about what I like and don't like. Don't have much planned for the future."

A disapproving look from Issun failed to get anything more out of the dark haired boy. With a defeated sigh Issun turned to Naruto. A look was all the incentive the boy needed to boast.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen, especially the ramen from Ichiraku's ramen stand! Have you ever been there? It's really great, you should try it some time. Uh, I don't like the three minutes it takes for cup ramen to cook. I guess a hobby of mine would be to eat different kinds of ramen and compare them. For the future I'm going to be the Greatest Hokage and then the village will have to acknowledge me!"

Amused silence from Issun for a moment before he asked, "So you like ramen?"

"I said that, didn't I?"

"I'm joking. I get it. And yes, I have been to Ichiraku's. It's pretty great. Did you say Uzumaki?"

"Yeah, why?"

A pause. "Nothing. Though Sasuke's intro leaves a lot to be desired, that was good. I look forward to getting to see what you guys have to offer. I guess that's it for today. Ammako, allow me to escort you home."

"I don't think that's really necessary. I'm a ninja now, I don't need to be walked home." she huffed.

"That's great, but not why I asked. I have business with your mother so I'm headed the same way." Issun retorted.

Her cheeks flushed. "Oh…"

"Alright, with that out of the way. Dismissed."

…

While Naruto and Sasuke went their own ways after, Ammako was left in an awkward position as she walked next to the older Pon. While it's true she knew of the man, she didn't know all that much about him. She was telling the truth when she said that she saw his picture around the compound, but whenever she brought it up with people, they got really quiet and refused to answer.

Now there he was and her curiosity was close to bursting, though she felt it would be improper to speak that way to her sensei. Not only that, but her immediate superior. She shifted her gaze to him every now and then during their trek and took in what she could. He seemed to shift between being stoic and professional, too aloof and relaxed depending on the situation. Whatever triggered this was unknown to her though, as he did it quite often. She supposed it had to do with what he knew at times and figured that was just the way things were with jonin. Must be one of those odd personality quirks that most of the elite ninja often showed.

Still, the silence was bothering her to no end. Might as well try and get some answers.

"So…" was all she got out.

"Look, I know you have questions, but they're going to have to wait. There's not a lot that I can answer for you. Assuming you and your teammates get past your probationary period, you may be privy to know why."

"…Oh…"

Issun remained silent for a moment. "It's nothing against you. I've been gone a long time and it's going to be a while before I'm comfortable enough to discuss myself more than I already have."

"Al-alright."

"Nothing against you. I just have a lot of baggage."

They remained quiet for the rest of the trip. Before too long they found themselves at the gates of the Okami compound. Entering, Ammako noticed the several glances that were being shot their way, obviously noticing the man walking next to her.

"Is that?"

"No, he's been gone years…"

"No, it's him. But why is he back now?"

Everything else she heard was more of the same. Given how fast the Okami tended to talk, it was only a matter of time before-

Sure enough, an older Okami attendant showed before the two. His attention was solely on Issun though and gave a curt message. "Pon-san, you're wanted in Rasu-san's office."

Issun's shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh. "Yeah, I figured." He turned to Ammako. "Assuming I'm still alive tomorrow, remember to be at training ground three at seven AM."

With that he followed the waiting attendant.

Ammako was left there speechless and alone with her thoughts. _'I wonder what Ka-san wants with him.'_

…

Issun wasn't feeling particularly well given his current circumstances. Knowing Rasu, things weren't going to start out well. Good thing he came prepared. The attendant, a man whose name he didn't know, led him to a rather ornate door and left him there. Rather than walk in, Issun waited a bit. Sure enough, a voice soon spoke up.

"I know you're out there. Are you going to keep me waiting?"

With another sigh, he reluctantly opened the door. He took note of the things that had changed and what had changed within the office. Several new paintings and carved pieces now decorated the room that weren't there the last time he had been in the room. More than anything, the office felt more… homey, he guessed. Last time it was barely furnished to be functional. Now it looked more personal and comfortable. His gaze eventually fell on the woman sitting at the wooden desk in the middle of the room.

Rasu looked much as she did the last time he saw her. Time's passing did little to change her vibrant looks and he couldn't help but stare in awe for a moment. As an artist, he recognized a muse when he saw one and Rasu was surely one to inspire great works. He shook it off though, now wasn't the time to be inspired.

Right now, he had to face what was surely be one of the most difficult trials he has ever faced. Rasu's wrath.

"Onee-san, it's been a while."

She didn't respond, merely giving him a cold stare. At one point he may have withered under that gaze, but after years in the field, he had learned to withstand worse. He returned her cold gaze with a stoic stare of his own. Whether this got to her or not, he couldn't say. Though, he did notice that a little tic had started under her right eye.

This went on for another minute before Issun decided that this was getting them nowhere.

"You going to say anything or can I go? I do have things to do you know."

This appeared to get to Rasu, as she sighed, reached into her desk, and pulled out a bottle. This sent a shiver down Issun's spine, memories of a certain celebratory night coming to mind. Rasu saw him twitch and chuckled as she pulled out two glasses.

"It's low-proof, don't worry. Sit down already." she said as she poured the alcohol into the glasses.

Seeing no reason not to, Issun took a seat. Rasu pushed a glass to him and he took it, but didn't drink it.

Rasu also did not drink from her glass, the two once again sitting in an awkward silence. Issun decided that since he was the cause of it, he should be the one to break it.

"How have you been?"

"Fine." was her curt response. She actually did drink from her glass this time. This seemed to calm her a bit as she stared at the empty cup. "It hurt. You leaving like that."

"I know."

"Why?"

"I had my reasons."

"Not going to tell me?"

"One day maybe. I still haven't come to terms with it." Issun took a sip from his drink. "So, you going to do something or do I have to actually say something to piss you off?"

Another chuckle from the Okami leader as she poured another drink for herself. "You know, I honestly thought I would. Even when I heard you had been back for a week. Still, I really just felt relieved that you're alright."

A wave of relief went through Issun and he relaxed a little. Rasu saw this and commented, "Don't feel so relieved yet, I'm still mad at you. You'll have to do a lot to make up for this. Why didn't you come back once you returned to the village?"

"I wanted to, Hokage's orders though. I can't say why. Though I think what I have here can help with the forgiveness process." Issun said as he pulled out a scroll.

This peaked Rasu's curiosity. "You found something?" her interest apparent in her eyes.

"Maybe. Found this before I got my orders to return. Was following a lead I came across at one of the other ruins I found." he said as he put his hand to the scroll. "Kai."

A poof of smoke and a large stone slab appeared on her desk. Much like everything else that had been sent to her by Issun, it was covered in kanji. For the first time though, she noticed that she could understand some of them.

"I don't understand. What does some story have to do with anything?"

Issun got a really smug look as he took pointed at the other kanji written on the slab. "It's not just a story, it's a poem possibly predating the Sage. Notice how the forms between the two match."

Rasu look at how the lines were written and did indeed note that they followed the same form.

"Using that knowledge, we can determine that this is the same story written in two different languages. This early form of what we use today and this older one that is on everything I've found so far."

He didn't have to finish before things clicked for the Okami. "We can use this story to decipher all the other writings." she said in awe.

"Exactly." Issun said with a grin.

This was big news. After so long, they finally had a way to figure out what the strange old kanji meant and what information about their clan the old words hid. The potential knowledge that was now available to them was boggling to her.

"So, that worth a little forgiveness?"

Rasu immediately dropped the grin that had set on her lips and quickly returned to a frown. "Hmph. It's a start." she said with puffed cheeks.

Issun kept himself from letting his smug grin from growing wider as he was sure that would only annoy the woman more. While he got a kick out of it, it wouldn't do to mend things between them if he kept poking fun at her. She may be aloof, but she had her pride.

"Well, that's for later I suppose. It will take time to get this deciphered. So I want to speak with you about current events. Like why you're my daughter's jonin sensei." She gave a hard stare at the man, her eyes boring into his.

Issun met the stare, he had nothing to hide. "Hokage's orders. Besides, do you know anyone else who would be a better teacher for her?"

"It just seems strange that out of everyone he could have picked, he chose you. You just got back not long ago. Suspicious." she said at him with slit eyes.

' _Nothing gets past her does it? Not like I can say anything.'_ he thought. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh."

Issun gave a shrug as he stood and began to look around the office. Rasu chose to use this time to check and see if she could translate any of this on her own. She pulled out a scroll and a brush and set about her task.

Issun took his time, carefully looking at the pieces of art that now decorated the room. He remembered that Rasu hated being in here when they first arrived, it seemed that she had made it a place where she could stand to be now. He moved from piece to piece, carefully critiquing each one. The most prominent were paintings and statues, other odd pieces sticking out here and there. He started to notice a theme with some of the paintings though.

"These are all by the same person," he noted, "they haven't signed them though."

"Good eye. Nice to see your years of wandering the nations hasn't dulled your skills. Those were all painted by Miya. She's already making a pretty good name for herself, she's had offers from as far as the capitol and she isn't even out of school yet. She hasn't told me yet why she doesn't sign the ones here."

"Is she studying to be a kunoichi?"

"Goodness no. She's over at the civilian branch, she's going to be graduating next year. We all have high hopes for her."

Issun nodded as he went to the next few pieces and he didn't pause for more than a minute or so for each one until he reached the last piece. He arched an eyebrow and cast a coy glance at Rasu, "Interesting that you would this one here. Didn't think you still had it."

Rasu looked up from her deciphering and saw what Issun was looking at, a white wolf mask. With an annoyed look she went back to her work. "Of course I kept it, you think I'd just toss it out?"

Issun smirked. "I dunno, last time I saw you with it, it wasn't exactly a good time. Thought you tossed it with everything else when we left Wep'keer." he said as he gazed at the mask.

If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that it was an Anbu mask as it used a similar design. A fairly simple oval design for the body of the mask with a visage of a wolf carved out of its surface. It had wide swept ears and a little button nose, its eyes framed in black triangles. Oddly, Issun found the appearance very feminine in its simplicity.

"I put a lot of work into that. Besides, it wasn't all bad."

"Has Ammako tried wearing it yet?" the Pon asked.

"Of course she has. It won't work for her though, you know those things need to be personalized."

"Spoken with her about that side of her heritage?"

"… No. I'm not ready to bring that up with her yet."

"So you wouldn't appreciate it if I told then?"

Silence was all the response he got. "Very well. I won't say anything, but she deserves to know."

"When I'm ready."

Issun turned and saw Rasu had stopped working and remained fairly still, a habit when she was lost in thought. He could make a fair guess as to what she was thinking about. Knowing that, he felt it may be time for him to leave.

"Look, I didn't mean to bring up those memories. If it's alright, I'm going to take off. Plenty to do tomorrow. New team and all that."

"Yeah. I'll see you later, Issun. Don't be a stranger aright?" she said as he made his way to the door, giving him a small smile before he exited. He returned it and then was gone.

With a heavy sigh, she lifted herself from her seat and walked over to the mask. Staring at it for a few seconds, she reached out and lifted it from its base. Running her fingers over its front, she started to remember every mark, scratch, and blemish upon it. She did because she put each and every one there. She flipped it over and looked at the fuinjutsu markings carved into the backside. Certainly not her work, she wasn't at this level and probably never would be. Memories flooded into her and she breathed heavily as she put the mask to her face.

Nothing happened, just as she knew it would. Still didn't stop the disappointment. Another sigh and she put it back on its stand. Every time, she knew better and still she tried. Could anyone really blame her? The freedom it granted was intoxicating. Again she let the memories flow.

 _The cold wind on her face as she ran through the winter forest at speeds she could never reach on her own. She felt rather than saw the presence of her running mate, somewhere off to her right, keeping pace with her as she raced through the trees. How she could never tell, she just knew that he was there, watching her in experience what he did daily._

 _It was by far the most amazing thing she had ever experienced and she had traveled far and wide, seen more than most. And soon… things would always be this way. If only…_

A knock on the door interrupted her from her thoughts.

"Rasu-sama, Master Issun mentioned that you wished to see me on his way out. How may I be of service." The voice of Michi came through the door.

"Oh, yes. There is something. Fetch the other advisors and bring them here. They're going to love this."

* * *

 **.xVIIIx.**

Naruto wasn't sure what he should be feeling right now. As he made his way through the evening streets of Konoha, he couldn't help but think about what Issun-sensei had told them. Probationary genin, it just didn't sound like a term that was used. But the Hokage had allowed it, so it must be a thing. Still, after everything he had been through to get this headband, it didn't seem right.

' _Hmph, then I'll just have to prove that I'm worthy to wear it. I did it once and I can do it again!'_ he thought as he walked down a familiar street.

While he still felt conflicted, it wasn't as prominent as the feeling had been. With new spirits, Naruto felt a certain spring return to his step as he started to smell the object of his current desire. Just around the corner and he would be there, Ichiraku's Ramen. He could hardly wait as today was special. For tonight there was a special, half price on every other bowl of ramen. While most wouldn't consider this all that practical, for someone who ate at least six bowls in one visit this was money in the bag. Naruto smiled devilishly as he made his way to the front of the store.

Just as he was about to enter though, he heard some groans coming from his left. He turned to see what could possibly be making the noise and was surprised to see Team Ten limping towards him. Sparking his curiosity, Naruto waited until they got close enough to hear him.

"Wow, you guys look like crap. What happened?" he asked.

Shikamaru was the first to notice that they were being spoken to and looked up from the ground. "Don't want to talk about it." He then let his eyes fall back.

Naruto only became more intrigued as he looked over the other two. Choji looked mostly alright, except for the fact that his eyes were focused on something faraway. Ino had her arms crossed across her belly and had a twitch in her left eye. Her normally well-kept hair was a mess and was that a feather in it? All of their clothes looked worn and ragged, Naruto wondered how they had gotten that way; they looked fine earlier. A spark of realization hit him remembering what Issun-sensei had said.

"You guys have a final genin test too?" he asked.

Again, Shikamaru was the only one who answered. "Something like that."

"Well did you pass?" Naruto asked excitedly. Sure he may not have gotten along with these guys all that well, but he still wanted everyone to do their best.

This time Shikamaru hesitated. The Nara boy didn't look like he wanted to say anything though he eventually managed a curt answer. "Yes."

' _They passed and still look like the world is ending? What the heck did their sensei do to them?'_

"Was it that bad?" Naruto asked.

This question seemed to break Ino out of the catatonic state she was in. "YES! It was awful!" she practically screamed as she fell to her knees. The girl then began to shiver heavily. Shikamaru let out a sigh and threw the remains of his tattered jacket over her shoulders, which she drew closer as soon as it was draped over her.

Now that was a reaction.

"What happened? You guys want to talk about it?"

Ino proceeded to shake her head vigorously and Shikamaru responded with, "Not really. Trust me, you don't want to know."

"That bad huh. Wow. Well you guys look like you could use some food, want to join me for some ramen? There's a special today."

Shikamaru looked at his teammates and decided that some food would be for the best. "Sure, why not. You guys good?"

Ino took a second before she rose, sniffling a little as she returned the Nara boy's jacket. Choji merely followed them as they entered the ramen stand.

"Great! It's not often I get company for ramen." Naruto said as he led the small group inside. "Hey Old man! I brought some company!"

"Naruto! Why am I not surprised to see you. Looks like you brought some friends. The usual for you?" Teuchi responded.

Naruto nodded as he took a seat and gestured for the other three to sit as well. They seemed hesitant to do so though for some reason. Shikamaru sniffed the air.

"What's that?"

Teuchi turned in response to the question. "You smell that huh? Just cooking up some chicken for the special tonight, been a popular choice all day." To emphasize this, he held up a partially prepared chicken carcass.

The three genin all froze at the sight. Choji turned a shade of green that Naruto swore he only saw on plants. Shikamaru on the other was drained of all color. Ino though, she looked as though something broke as her eyes went white and the shivering returned. Not a second later she broke again.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed as she took off out of the stall.

Shikamaru simply turned mechanically and followed shortly after, dragging a catatonic Choji behind him.

"What's wrong with them?" Teuchi asked.

"No idea. Four bowls please."

* * *

 **.xIXx.**

Sasuke walked in the front door and was met with the smell of dinner cooking. While not a rare occurrence, they happened infrequently enough that this came as a surprise. There wasn't much that led to one of the other two cooking, but Sasuke could guess. Grandfather wasn't home. Feeling a little better, the boy entered the dining room.

There he found his brother seated at the table, carefully going over the scroll in front of him. Sasuke watched as Itachi slowly ran his fingers over the bumpy paper, taking in what was written in the textured language.

"Sasuke, welcome home." Itachi greeted, his face never leaving the table. Not that it really mattered if he did.

"Yeah. What's Izumi cooking?" Sasuke asked as he sat down.

"Your favorite, omusubi with okaka and tomatoes. We felt that congratulations were in order for today."

Sasuke gave a small smile, though it quickly vanished when he thought about what their sensei told them. Itachi seemed to pick up on his brother's silence. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you didn't pass the genin test?"

"It's not that. He didn't give us one. He did tell us about it though, says that we're on probationary status until further notice. We're on the team, but…"

"Probationary status? Never heard of that, you sure you didn't fail?"

"I'm positive. We have our first meeting at…" it occurred then to Sasuke that they were never told when or where they were meeting. He brought his palm to his face at the realization. Such a rookie mistake, he didn't even bother to ask when they were meeting. He expected this of Naruto, but himself and Ammako? He expected better.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just realized that I didn't ask when we were meeting." Sasuke said.

"So you did make the team. Alright, who're squad mates?"

"Uzumaki Naruto and Okami Ammako."

"Ah, heard good things about the Okami, even worked with a couple when I was in Anbu. Don't tell anyone I told you that, supposed to be discreet and all that. Though I don't think those two are in Anbu anymore either."

"Nothing to add about Uzumaki?"

"Not much to say, only know of one Uzumaki in the village and you're teamed up with him. You probably know more about him than I do." Itachi said as he continued to trail his fingers over the bumpy scroll.

"What are you even reading there?" Sasuke asked as he leaned over the table to get a better look. Not sure why he bothered as he had no idea how to even read tenji.

"Oh, just some old reports as a favor. Took some time to get them transcribed into tenji though. Just got them today and have been going over them since earlier this afternoon."

"Well, what're they about?"

"Sorry little brother, can't say. Hokage business." Itachi said with a smile.

Sasuke missed seeing that, the small smiles that Itachi gave him. Nowadays they were rare and far between. Though these smiles now lacked the look in his brother's eyes. All Sasuke saw now were the bandages that covered the upper half of Itachi's face.

"Dinner's ready!" A female voice carried from the kitchen.

Sasuke turned to see the lone female Uchiha walk into the dining room.

Uchiha Izumi was a teenage girl around Itachi's age, she had long brown hair that framed her face. Like Itachi though, her eyes were also covered by bandages, these ones blue compared to his black. While the coverings did conceal the upper half of her face, Sasuke could still see the burn scars that peaked out below her right eye. Her skin remained unblemished under her left eye though, allowing him to see the mole that sat under it.

Looking down, he saw that she had wrapped her arms with new bandages. He knew that her burns had healed years ago, she just felt self-conscious about her scars though.

' _Can't really blame her.'_ he thought as he rubbed the arm warmer on his left arm.

"Sasuke! I hope you like what I prepared for tonight. I am so proud of you!" Izumi said as she felt her way around the table until she was at his side. She leaned down a little and gave him a hug, which he returned. Much as he didn't like physical contact with people, he couldn't deny her.

"Thank you Izumi-nee-san."

"You hear that Itachi. He's already calling me Nee-san!" Izumi boasted.

"He's been calling you that for years." Itachi deadpanned.

Izumi pouted at his tone. "Hmph, well if you're going to be like that, then you won't be getting any dessert."

"You know I don't like sweets right? For that matter, neither does Sasuke."

"Guh, you two are hopeless."

Sasuke sat back and enjoyed the conversation. He wished that they could have more nights like this. Grandfather often proved to be a bit of a spoilsport however. Whenever he was around things often turned sour. Thankfully he was gone for the night. May as well enjoy things while it lasted. With a small smile he started helping serve their meal.

* * *

 **.xXx.**

All was dark as Waka felt himself lapse back into consciousness. Reaching his hand up to his face, he felt the rough texture of gauze over his eyes.

"Oh, you're up. How're you feeling?" the voice of Hayazo sounded.

"Groggy… and hungry." he responded.

"Fraid I can't do much about the hunger problem, you're more likely to heave it back out at the moment. Can help with the grogginess though." Waka felt his palms being forcefully pointed up and a couple of small objects placed onto them. "Take those and I got a glass of water to help wash them down. Should counteract the grogginess."

Waka downed the pills and soon felt a cold glass pushed into his hands. He greedily drank down the water.

"Good. Should be right as rain in a few days. So what was the point of all this?"

Waka laid back down and let a little bit of a smile show. "Progress."

* * *

 **.xXIx.**

"Boss! Where do you want these stacks to go?"

"Put them over by the north side, we're going to need them there when we start on that tomorrow!"

"Hai!"

Voices rang back and forth throughout the work site as workers communicated orders. Activity was high as people rushed from one work spot to the next. Construction hadn't officially begun yet, but they were slated to begin in the morning. In order to get a leg up on that, everybody was hurrying to get everything set up beforehand.

It was a pretty exciting start as far as the workers were concerned. This was a big project and the pay promised to be worth it. Several months' worth of promised work on provided this area with a decent road and a bridge to finish it off. On top of that it was working for a reputed construction firm. Why wouldn't they be glad to start?

The foreman looked over all the setup that had been done so far and deemed that they were more than prepared to start work as soon as possible. Giving his notes one more look, he smiled as he pulled out his whistle and gave it a blow.

"Alright people! You've all done good! We're more than ready to start work tomorrow! For now though, relax and refresh. Tomorrow's s big day and I need you all at your best. The dinner tent is up and we have plenty of drinks available. Dismissed!"

A round of cheers as the workers scattered towards their tents and temporary shelters. Such were the high spirits of all that not one of the workers noticed the shadowy figures watching over them.

"Hmm. This could be detrimental to our plans. What should we tell her?" asked one.

"What we're supposed to, that there are more people here."

"You think they know what we've been doing?"

"Unlikely, we've made sure of that. Just focus on gathering information for the time being. The Queen will tell us what we're to do when she's ready. Until then, we follow our standing orders." the second figure said as it looked down at the torn piece of scroll it had gotten a hold of, the words Agata Project in bold letters. "We observe and see if any are of use to our plans."

* * *

 **And Scene!**

So even more development so for several characters here. Poor Team Ten though, really don't want to be where they are right now. For anyone who got the reference, that's all it was, a reference. There won't be any more stories being added to the crossover than I have already added. Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter. With that, on to reviews.

 **Rio Skyron** \- Well, yeah. Though I do have to say that it will not be called Ninetails at any point in the story, only outside of it like here.

 **Dragon Man 180** \- All will be revealed with the Uchiha's, I am really looking forward to when I can pull back that curtain. And it seems to that I have not been clear enough about why Itachi has a cane the past couple of chapters, so here's to hoping I made it abundantly obvious this time. Hopefully your questions regarding teams are answered this chapter as well.

 **jiongu-naruto** \- ... What? Not entirely sure how that would work, what does the Ninetails or the Nine-Tails have to be redeemed for? The fox-rods are off in a secured safe far away from Konoha at the moment, so not sure how you came to that conclusion. Why would I have it killed off so soon? In my opinion, the Ninetails was a damn good villain in Okami, better than Yomi in story at least. It was set up far better and I felt actual rage against when I first played through. No way am I axing it anytime soon here. And why would it pass anything down to Naruto, it wants something from him. I am thoroughly confused by your review, you've taken some rather large leaps in logic there my friend.

 **Reversus12** \- Thank you! I love the game and am glad that someone else loves it too. I will keep it up!

 **Bogart Rojas Avila and Shadowknightreaper** \- So I'm going to lump you two together as both your reviews revolve around the same topic. To be entirely honest, when I first conceived this story, it was supposed to be NaruAmmy. That changed however as I began to develop the story and characters more. With what I have in mind for later, that pairing stopped working. Ironically, making Ammako and Hinata best friends was supposed to be what caused Hinata to not have a crush on Naruto. As things developed though, it just made more sense to keep that pairing as opposed to having Naruto and Ammako be a thing. That said, Bogart, I already mentioned that there will be no harem in this story. Not sorry to burst that bubble, there are just too many of them in the fandom and really make no sense to me.

 **Resplandent** \- Rude.

 **ChaosDeathLord** \- Nope, no OP happening here, I take pride in that. More interested in telling a good story. But yeah, Ammako and Rasu's names are based off of Amaterasu's. Rasu is taken off the end there and Ammako is the nickname Isuun gave her in the japanese version of the game, Ammy is the western version. What Waka is doing isn't necessarily in opposition to anyone really, you'll see as we get further in. Oh man, I'm not sure how well you guys are going to take what I have planned for the instruments, but I personally look forward to it. I did not do a good enough job on showing that Mizuki was not controlled and was swapped out at some point. Going to have to fix that later.

 **delta4pheonix** \- I aim to please. Not everyone mind you, that would be impossible.

So a little news here. I'm going to try and not be as talkative as I have been down here as I feel that I often say things that can be considered spoilerish, I've done it before and I can guarantee that I will do it again. Aside from answering what I can for reviews, I will try to keep what I say down here to a minimum from now on.

Of course I could also be a total liar. Another Director's Cut section here folks!

So now that the teams are placed, I feel that I can mention another early idea that didn't make the cut. In addition to Rao being a student in the original draft, so was Issun. The team make up then was going to be Team 7 with undecided Sensei, Naruto, Ammako, and Issun. However, I had trouble making that work, largely because the moveset that I gave Issun was too OP for a genin, but not too OP for a jonin. So a little juggling around and what came out of it was Team 6 with Issun, Naruto, Ammako, and Sasuke. This opened up a whole host of new ideas, many of which I have put into affect over the last few chapters. The early ideas for Issun had him being very similar to Sai in many regards, so there was some clashing that was going on there as Sai was also used in those early drafts to balance out the number of students. Let's just say that when Issun was a genin, things got swiftly out of hand with how many students I had in that class. Things evened out once I took him out of the class and made him older. That action though had it's own set of issues, namely his new backstory. Fear not though, for I have given him something fairly matching of character. That will of course come to light as the story progresses. Look forward to it.

With that said. Read and Review! Lostbasin out!


	15. Handle with Care

**And I'm back! Sooo... I am not going to apologize for this chapter being nearly eight months late. Long story short, Life happened, some good, most bad, either way, I was in no state to really write. That only really works for the first couple months though, let's just say that this chapter kicked my butt left and right to high heaven. Anyway, I've made you guys wait long enough, news at the bottom.**

* * *

 **Ink Stained Leaves**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Handle with Care**

* * *

 **.xIx.**

Issun stared up at the rather haggard looking apartment building. He checked the slip of paper in his hand to make sure that he had the right address.

' _Is this really where the kid lives?'_ Another disgruntled look as a soft breeze knocked over a hanging window cover. _'Well, least it's better than most places I've had to stay in.'_

He walked up to the third floor and checked the doors until he found the number he was looking for. He rapped his knuckles on the door a couple of times. No answer. He did it again, a little louder this time. Still nothing. He was about to do it a third time when he heard a soft rumbling. Straining his hearing, he could make out the sound.

"ZzzzzzZZzzzzz…"

'… _sleeping…'_ Issun realized. With a sigh, he took out the key that the Hokage had given him and unlocked the door. Walking in, he took note of how messy it was. There was a pile of garbage bags stacked near the door, near those were stacks of old and empty ramen cups and chopsticks. Various bits of trash littered the floor and most other elevated surfaces. The one exception to this appeared to be a small table under the window. Atop it was a few houseplants, each one carefully tended to and their area clean of any debris.

Issun wasn't too surprised at this, his briefing from the Hokage had mentioned Naruto's… habits. Still better than some other places that he had to take refuge in. One couldn't get picky when hiding from people who wanted him dead after all. Granted, he could hide better than just about anyone regardless of location.

He was pulled from his musings when another rumbling snore sounded from behind one of the other two doors in the room. Assuming that Naruto hadn't fallen asleep in the tub then that had to be the bedroom. Issun went up to this door and this time knocked his whole fist against the door.

A startled shout and a rustling of hurried movement as the boy awoke. A second later the door opened revealing a disheveled looking Naruto, dressed in a white shirt and blue shorts. He looked wearily up at the man who had awoken him from his slumber.

"Sensei? What are you doing here?" After a second, a thought occurred to him as his eyes opened wide. "Hey, why are you in my apartment!" he said as he pointed an accusatory finger at Issun.

Issun looked unperturbed at this. "I knocked, you didn't answer. It occurred to me that I failed to mention a time and place when we were supposed to meet. So I came by to pick you up."

Naruto looked placated by the answer, for a second at least. "How did you get in here!"

Issun fingered the key in his pocket as he answered. "I'm a jonin, a little thing like a locked door is nothing to me."

Naruto harrumphed as he turned and shut the door behind him. Issun could hear shuffling around so he knew that the boy wasn't going back to sleep. A minute later and the door opened back up, Naruto now in his orange jacket and pants.

"Alright, I'm ready. Let's do this."

"Forgetting something?" Issun asked.

Naruto looked down at his outfit and saw nothing wrong. He looked up at Issun in confusion. Issun answered by pointing at his forehead. Realization dawned and Naruto ran back to his room. When he came out he was wearing his forehead protector.

"Alright, now I'm good to go." The boy said with a smile.

"Cool. Come on, we've got a couple stops to make."

…

"Did you really have to drag me all the way out here?" Naruto groaned as he followed the older shinobi.

Issun gave him a bored look in response. "This is where Sasuke lives, so yeah. We're a bit early too, so might as well walk down the way and get Ammako too. Wait here while I go grab him."

Naruto didn't argue as he leaned up against the outer wall of the Uchiha compound. Satisfied that the boy would be alright for a little bit he walked through the front gate. While it may have at one point been manned and guarded, Issun saw that the gate hadn't been watched over in some time. The gate hung ajar slightly and it creaked as Issun nudged it open to allow passage.

The walk through the ravaged compound unsettled the jonin with every step. Ruined buildings, the charred husks of former homes and businesses, the neglected streets overgrown with grasses and weeds. All of it brought forth memories of all too similar locations he had visited during his journeys. It wasn't all that long before he reached where the few remaining Uchiha lived, something Issun was grateful for. He wondered why they chose to live so deep within the dilapidated compound; it would've been much easier to set up near the front.

He wasn't able to ponder on this for long, for he had arrived at the only house in the entire compound that looked lived in. It didn't look all that different from the ruined homes surrounding except that it wasn't blackened, the surrounding grass was green, and if he wasn't mistaken the light smell of food being cooked.

As he drew closer to the home, he began to hear the stirrings of people and muffled voices carry out the window.

' _Least I won't have to let myself in this time.'_ he thought as he strode up to the door and rapped his knuckles across it. Unlike with Naruto's place, he immediately heard someone walk over to answer.

The door opened to a young girl, somewhere in her mid-teens, darkish brown hair. Normally he would also take in her eye color, though in this he couldn't as they were covered with a light blue wrapping.

"Hello?" she asked timidly, tilting her head left and right. "May I help you?"

"Morning," the shinobi greeted. "My name is Pon Issun; I'm Sasuke's jonin instructor. Just here to pick him up for our missions today."

The girl frowned a little at Issun's words. "I'm sorry, but Sasuke left some time ago."

"Left? Do you know where he went?"

She shook her head. "He was up and gone before I could ask."

Issun let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course he is. That's alright; I think I know where he could've gone. Thanks though."

Before he could turn away, a voice spoke up from in the house. "Izumi! Who's by the door?!" an old gruff voice yelled.

Before she could respond though, the owner of the voice made himself known. Uchiha Yuu walked up next to Izumi. He didn't look the least bit pleased that they had a visitor.

"What are you doing here, boy?"

Issun gave a measured stare at the man, it wouldn't do to let his attitude affect him. "Merely here to pick up Sasuke for our team training, then do our missions for the day Uchiha-dono."

Yuu frowned slightly at the honorific's use. "Well, as you can see, he's not here, so kindly get out of my compound."

"Was already on my way out." Issun bowed slightly, more in the direction of Izumi than Yuu, a fact that the older man failed to notice as he turned away as soon as he was done speaking.

So Issun made his way out of the burned compound, passing by the husked out buildings once again. It wasn't long before he reached the outer gate and walked out of them. The sound of snoring met his ears and looking over he saw that Naruto was fast asleep against the wall.

' _I should've known.'_ the jonin thought as he licked the tip of his pinky and shoved it into Naruto's ear. The trick had quick results as Naruto shot up and tried to dry his ear.

"Gah! What'd you do that for!"

Issun chuckled. "Wasn't about to pass up an opportunity up. Been told that you're quite the prankster, surely you understand."

Naruto grumbled in reply as he continued to dry his ear. Then he noticed that Issun returned alone. "Hey, where's Sasuke?"

"Already started the day apparently, but I have an idea on where to look. Come on, can pick up Ammako on the way."

…

Once again Issun found himself knocking on a door. Though he was more than welcome to come and go as he pleased from the Okami household, a part of him felt he didn't deserve that honor. Yet. He'd been gone too long to treat it like home. One day perhaps, but not this day.

He only had to knock once before someone came to answer. To his pleasant surprise, it was exactly who he'd been looking for.

"Sensei? I thought we weren't meeting for another little bit." Ammako asked upon seeing the two.

Issun rubbed the back of his head as he gestured at Naruto. "Yeah, but I apparently forgot to tell the other two yesterday. So I figured that I'd go pick them up and grab you on the way. Looks like I just grabbed you and Naruto though, Sasuke was already gone by the time I got to his place."

Ammako just nodded. "Alright. Give me a minute, need to finish getting ready." The door shut, leaving the two members of Team Six outside. A few moments later Ammako came out the door, ready for the day.

"Alright, let's do this!" she said as she tied off her forehead protector around her neck.

"Good. Pretty sure I know where Sasuke is." Issun said having to shake off a bit of déjà vu.

…

Sure enough, arriving at the training ground from yesterday, the group found their last teammate. If Sasuke noticed them arrive, he gave no sign as he continued to work through his taijutsu katas. Issun gestured for the other two to halt and simply watched the boy go through his stances.

' _Perfect form. Good rhythm. Predictable.'_ Issun thought. A few more moments of this before Sasuke halted his movements and only then did he acknowledge the other three were there. A simple nod of his head in their direction was all the greeting he offered.

"Glad to see that you knew where to go." The older shinobi said as Sasuke got in formation with the other two.

"… Wasn't hard." Sasuke uttered.

All three genin stood at attention, mostly anyway. Naruto tried to stand up straight, though it was apparent that he was struggling to stay awake, his head bobbing up and down slightly. Ammako also was trying to look professional, but it was clear her excited energy was creeping through, her fingers twitching a little. Sasuke was the only one of the three who managed to stand still, though Issun suspected that this was normal for him. Despite that though, he could see that Sasuke was just as anxious to get started as the other two.

"Now that we're all together," Issun started off. "I thought that we would begin with a little demonstration of each other's abilities. Since we'll be working together for the foreseeable future, it would be in our best interest to understand what we're each capable of."

The genin perked up at hearing that, a chance to show off and show how strong they were. Naruto immediately perked up, Ammako pumped her fist, and Sasuke allowed a small smirk to touch his lips. Yeah, they were excited.

"I suppose that I'll start us off since I'm the teacher here. Now, I would like to remind you guys though that as a jonin, I will be unable to show you guys everything that I'm capable of for security reasons. There are just some things that I can't pull out unless the situation calls for it. Understand?"

"Aww… I wanted to see some super cool jutsu…" Naruto whined. Ammako and Sasuke also looked disappointed but held their tongues. They clearly understood better than their blond teammate.

"That's just how it is, you'll understand someday. It always pays to have an ace up your sleeve." Issun told the genin before he walked a short distance away.

"Something I want all of you to remember is that most of my techniques are unique to me, so odds are good that you won't be able to use them even if I taught them to you."

Ammako tilted her head a little at before asking, "But Sensei, you're a Pon. What can you do that they're not able to?"

Issun grinned a little at the question. "Oh, lots really. I've been gone a really long time now, there's a lot out there to learn. I made it a point to learn as much as I could while I was away and have come across many different methods and jutsu. While most are beyond me, I still managed to come up with a few things. For example, what do you guys know of Tetsu no Kuni?"

Sasuke visibly perked up at the question and responded first. "The Land of Iron, home of the samurai. They have little to do with the rest of the Elemental Nations because their ideologies differ from that of ninja."

"What's a samurai?"

Ammako's eyes opened wide in disbelief as she turned to face Naruto. "How can you not know that? Wait… it's you. Of course you wouldn't have paid attention."

"Now now. His question is actually valid; samurai isn't exactly something that would be taught at the academy. Think about it Ammako, did you learn about them in class or did you read about them in one of your books?"

Ammako looked confidant as she was about to answer, but her expression quickly turned to confusion as she thought about it.

"Sasuke, I'm sure you learned about it elsewhere as well, am I right?"

A nod from the boy. "My brother told me about them. I don't recall them being mentioned at all in class."

"See. Naruto is well within his right to ask what they are." He looked at the orange clad boy. "Samurai are warriors of Tetsu no Kuni, similar to ninja except they use their chakra differently than we do. Rather than channeling their chakra into ninjutsu, they instead use it in their kenjutsu. Samurai are extremely proficient in the use of swords and are all the more powerful for it. Tetsu no Kuni remains highly neutral to this day because of how strong their samurai are. Shinobi from all villages agree that it's best not to interfere with the samurai since we use the Iron as a neutral meeting place."

"Now that we're caught up on that," Issun said as he put his hand to the sword at his side. "I wanted to tell you that I spent many months there and picked up a few things."

Faster than either of the genin could see, Issun had pulled his blade free from its' sheathe and suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, the back of the blade pressed lightly to his collar bone.

"Wha!" the boy shouted as he fell backward in surprise.

Issun chuckled as he sheathed his sword. "That right there is known as Iaidō, a technique used by samurai to limit shinobi jutsu usage. The point is to close distance with their opponent and cut them down before they're able to get a jutsu off. It's extremely effective against most ninja as they simply aren't prepared for it. I want to teach this to you guys if I can, we'll need to see if any of you have any talent with a sword first."

"Whoa! That's so cool! When are you going to teach us that? You think I'll be able to do that Sensei?" Naruto's questions came out in rapid succession. "Won't I look awesome with a sword? I bet I'd look awesome with a sword!"

Sasuke also looked interested, though as always he kept it well hidden. Ammako looked a little interested, though knowing what he knew of her, it may have just been academic interest. Far as he knew, she didn't really seem to have any interest in weapon usage. He knew no one at the compound taught her, unless… Tachi perhaps? He'd have to check later but he doubted she would be all that driven to learn it.

"No time soon I'm afraid. As I said, we have to learn how to operate as a team first before I begin to teach you guys anything like this. Iaidō is just a small taste of what I have to offer you guys and even if using a sword isn't your forte, the knowledge of how it's used should help you be able to counter should you run into someone who can. But before I show you more, I need to see what you can do. Sasuke, how about you show us what you can do? I've heard a lot about the Uchiha, how about a demonstration of something from them?"

Sasuke's smirk at being asked to go first vanished at the mention of Uchiha techniques, something Issun picked up on.

' _Huh, interesting.'_ He thought. "Now, just show something that I most likely wouldn't have read about in your file. I doubt you showed everything, given the rules and all."

Sasuke was now standing about as far from his teammates that Issun had been. He looked around a bit before his eyes fell on a target, an old log. A deep breath was all the time he took before his hands flashed through a series of seals.

" _ **Raiton Dan: Ibuki!**_ " he shouted as his right hand became enveloped in electricity. He thrust it forward, lightning arcing from his hand to the log which exploded into tiny splinters. He turned back to them, a smug look on his face. Naruto and Ammako both stunned at the display of power the Uchiha boy had just shown them. Clearly they hadn't been aware that Sasuke could pull off such a jutsu.

"Okay, that was impressive. I wasn't told that you were capable of nature transformation. Guess you really are a prodigy, I don't know of any other genin who could do that. Though, last I checked, weren't Uchiha known for their use of fire?"

Once again Sasuke's grin turned into a frown, this time his right hand went to his left wrist. "I came across a scroll in our archives showing this jutsu. I thought it'd be useful to learn."

Issun took note of how the boy dodged the question. He'd have to take a look into that later. "Useful is an understatement, not many people would expect that from someone as young as you. Hold that in reserve; never know when an ace can come in handy." He turned to the other two. "Naruto, let's see what you got."

The blond shook off his surprise from Sasuke's attack and happily ran up, ready to show off.

"Alright, prepare to be amazed!" He ran his hands through a few seals. " _ **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**_ "

Several puffs of smoke appeared, obscuring the surrounding area. The smoke blew away to reveal a dozen identical copies of the orange ninja, each of them grinning.

" **Whatcha think?"** They all said in unison sending a wave of pure noise that almost toppled over the rest of Team Six.

If Sasuke's move was a surprise to Ammako, then Naruto's was downright astonishing, her mouth hanging wide open. Sasuke actually raised an eyebrow. While Issun had known that Naruto could use the technique, he was unaware that the boy could create so many.

"What? Since when could you do that?" Ammako asked once she was able to pull herself together. Sasuke said nothing but started to pay extra attention.

The Narutos laughed, clearly pleased that they got such a reaction.

"Don't just laugh! What the heck are those? You couldn't even make a regular clone in class, what are these?" Ammako pressed him, needing an answer.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: a B-rank jutsu that creates physical clones rather than illusionary ones. Though Naruto appears to have used the forbidden variant of it known as the Tajū Kage Bunshin, which is A-rank." Issun stated. "Interesting that you know it. It seems that I'm going to have to talk with the Hokage about this."

"Why? He already knows I have it. Didn't he tell you about it?"

' _Yes, but he didn't say that you could create so many.'_ Issun thought. "He may have mentioned it, but given the amount of time I had to speak with him, I may have only got the cliff notes. Still, having twelve of you present should be incredibly helpful."

"Yeah, that's the least I can make right now. I can't really control how much chakra I put into it yet."

Issun nodded in affirmation. "That's a powerful technique you have there, we should- wait; did you just say least?"

Naruto nodded. "First time I used it I made… I'm not really sure, there were so many they filled up the forest that I was in. I think Iruka-sensei said something in the hundreds."

Issun could've sworn his heart skipped a beat and his face paled at the boy's words. "Hundreds… Give me a second, I need to process," he said with a hand held up.

"Sensei, what makes these bunshin so special apart from being solid? And why is Naruto's version considered forbidden?" Sasuke asked.

The Jonin took a breath before answering, managing to recover. "Kage bunshin are unique among bunshin techniques as the clones made from it are indistinguishable from the original. Half of the user's chakra goes into creating just one clone. If three clones are made, each one gets one-fourth of the user's chakra. As you can imagine, this can be dangerous for those who have lower chakra levels. Create more clones than you can handle and you're dead. Most I've ever heard anyone creating is five and still be useful after. The fact that Naruto can create as many as he can says a lot about his chakra reserves. I'm betting your chakra control is pretty crappy right?"

Naruto's face flushed red at the statement. "It's not that bad!"

"Don't freak out. All that really means is that you'll have trouble performing jutsu that require finesse. Jutsu that require large amounts of chakra should be just fine as your use of the Kage Bunshin shows. We'll work on your control so you can make a more manageable amount, shouldn't take too long. You guys already learned about the tree climbing exercise right?"

A trio of nods.

"Great, knew Onigiri-sensei wouldn't slack on your training. This'll save us some time. Just keep practicing on that and your control should grow. In fact, I'll set a goal for you right now. I want you down to five clones in the next two weeks, think you can do that?"

"Uh, I suppose. I've been practicing all week with it, used to be a lot more than that. Yeah, I can get it down to five. Just watch me!"

Issun nodded in approval. "Now, I believe it's your turn now Ammako."

The girl shook off her confusion now that she was up.

Ammako moved out to the training area and turned to Issun. "Anything in particular you would like to see Sensei?"

"Whatever you feel like showing should be fine."

A grin spread across her lips she eyed a tree with a wicked gleam in her eye. She pulled out a small ink well and a single brush as she summoned a shimmering plane of chakra between her and the target. Quick as a flash she applied three strokes to the plane and released it before her brush stopped moving. Nothing happened for a moment and just as Naruto looked as though he was going to ask a question the tree fell apart into pieces.

"Impressive. Pretty good quick draw there. Don't think I've seen anyone other than Tachi use more than two strokes with a Power Slash in one go. Well done." Issun said as he clapped his hands a couple of times.

Naruto's mouth hung open, his eyes wide, it now being his turn to be surprised. "What the heck was that? What? How?"

Ammako took in the boy's confusion like a noble would take in a fine wine as she giggled a bit. "That was my clan's special burashijutsu; Power Slash. Pretty cool huh?" she gloated.

"Power Slash? Bur-ash-jutsu" the blond asked, trying to sound out the word.

Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who corrected him. "Burashijutsu: a form of jutsu employed by the Okami clan that utilizes chakra ink and carefully applied brushstrokes to affect the area around them."

"… What?" asked a still confused Naruto.

Issun chuckled under his breath a little as he filled the rest in. "A special type of jutsu used by Ammako's clan. Burashijutsu don't function like ninjutsu, not really anyway. Unlike other clan's though, they don't treat them like hiden. They freely show others how to use them, but most find that they're unable to actually perform the jutsu. Not that they're particularly tricky to use, most simply can't use them at all. And those outside the family can't really use them to the same extent as those of the Okami clan."

Naruto didn't look at all informed by this new information. Issun watched as the boy thought hard for a few moments as he processed what he had been told. "So what you're saying is that anyone can learn them, but there's no guarantee that they can use them."

"That's the gist of it, yeah." Issun replied.

"So what you're saying is that I can learn them too?"

"Uh, technically, yes." Issun didn't like where this line of questioning was going.

A rare moment of silence from the blond genin.

"… Teach me."

Ammako raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea sensei."

Issun held back a chuckle. "Oh? And why would that be?"

"Naruto's a known prankster. There's really no telling what he would do with if he had access to burashijutsu…" Ammako stated apprehensively. "I shudder to think about the consequences."

"... I see… Well, as his sensei, I decide if and when I teach him any new jutsu."

"But…" Ammako started.

"No buts, I can teach him whatever I like. Besides, there's always the chance that he'll be unable to use them anyway."

Naruto took that well as he jumped into the air and whooped. "Alright! Already learning a jutsu on the first day!"

"Whoa, slow down there. I'm not going to teach you anything today. I have to gather the stuff for it first. That and it doesn't fit in with our schedule for this week. Or even next week when I think about it. We've got a lot to do before I can start teaching you anything. I've got to finish seeing what you guys can do before I can start to formulate what I can build on top of that."

"So what will we be learning then Sensei?" Sasuke questioned.

"We first need to learn how to work as a unit, right now we're all too focused on our own methods and working separately. Yes, myself included. I've been on my own out in the field for a long time, so I need to readjust to working in a team again as it's been awhile. And Ammako, I do plan on teaching these guys how to utilize burashijutsu. It's too useful not to."

Ammako puffed her cheeks and turned away in a manner than looked all too familiar to Issun. _'Just like her mother…'_

"Fine, it's not like there's a guarantee that the knuckle head can use them anyway…"

This, of course, garnered a panicked response from said knuckle head.

"What do you mean I won't be able to learn the bur-bru… brush jutsu?" he asked indignantly.

Issun shook his head. "I wouldn't really worry about it. Burashijutsu usage does seem to be completely random, so if you can't use it it's not a reflection of your own capabilities."

Naruto thought for a second. "Will my chakra levels keep me from learning them?"

"I wouldn't say that. Burashi techniques don't really have the finesse that ninjutsu does. They generally tend to work automatically regardless of the amount of chakra poured into them. Even if you poured all of your chakra into your strokes, the technique would cut off the flow as soon as it had enough to activate. Of course, there have been exceptions to this. More than a few family members have been able to perform charged up variants of a few techniques based on the amount of chakra they poured into them. I'm not one of them as I can only use the standard versions. As for them not working, that's more related to an individual's chakra natures than anything else."

"Chakra natures?"

Ammako flinched at Naruto's question. "Oh for… Did you pay any attention to Yomi-sensei's lectures? Chakra natures determine what kind of elemental jutsu you can easily perform." she scolded.

"A little more complicated than that, but in essence, yeah. Your chakra nature in regards to burashijutsu can determine what brushstrokes you're able to use. This isn't always the case though, we of the Pon family usually only possess Inton and Yōton affinities and yet are able to freely use any of the brushstrokes. At least, the ones we've learned about so far anyway."

"This is confusing…" Naruto said as he rubbed his temples.

"I'll teach you more about it once we've gotten further along with your training. Don't worry too much about it." Issun assured the boy. Issun turned to Sasuke. "You've been awfully quiet during this whole thing. Any questions?"

"Not really."

"Sasuke already knows most of this. Yomi-sensei taught him how to use one technique a few years ago." Ammako chimed in.

"Really? Which one?" Issun asked as he hadn't been told this.

"… Rejuvenation." Sasuke muttered as he crossed his arms and looked away.

"Now that's interesting. Rejuvenation is one of the more difficult strokes to learn. And you're able to use it?" Issun asked.

Sasuke scoffed and turned away in annoyance. "Not anymore."

Issun waited a few seconds, but Sasuke wasn't offering any more information on the subject.

"Well, whatever. Looks like I got my hands on some rather talented students. Burashijutsu, Kage bunshin, and a Raiton user, not bad. I can totally work with this. But the first thing I think we can work on is something that I think all of you are well suited for." Issun chuckled. "Like I told Naruto, we've got a lot of other things to do before we get to that. Right now though, I think it's about time we headed to the tower and picked up our missions for the day."

* * *

 **.xIIx.**

"The hell kind of mission is this!" Naruto shouted as he waved the brush and can of paint he held at Issun.

"What were you expecting your first mission to be like? Fighting bandits and rescuing nobles?" Issun said more than asked.

"… Well, yeah." Naruto mumbled as he started on his task of painting a fence.

Though the other two weren't voicing it as loudly as Naruto, Issun could tell that they weren't pleased with their current mission either. While they did a better job of hiding it, granted Naruto didn't bother hiding his discontent at all, they still had showed signs of it. Ammako narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. Sasuke was better at it, though Issun caught the ever so slight shiver of frustration in his stance.

A low chuckle. "I like your style, but you guys are far from being able to handle those kinds of missions yet. I wouldn't worry too much though. I'm certain that under the tutelage of Onigiri-sensei and Yomi-san you guys are ahead of the curve. Your entire class should be actually."

Naruto considered Issun's words for a second. "So, you mean we could start taking more fun missions earlier?"

"I didn't say that, but I wouldn't put it outside the realm of possibility. And who said what we do isn't fun? There are plenty of missions around the village that are plenty entertaining. For example," he started saying as he tossed a mission scroll in his hand. "This one right here is tracking down Madame Shijimis' cat. I hear this mission tests most genin's abilities to their fullest. Poor cat runs for it whenever it gets the chance and therefore has lots of practice running from those sent after it. I figured that we could tackle this one after you guys got done with that fence."

"You mean this cat?" Ammako asked as she held up a brown cat with light brown stripes. Issun watched as the cat seemed desperate to shower the girl with affection. It's pleading mews streamed steadily as Ammako held it as far from her as she could.

Issun compared the cat to the picture he had. Sure enough, it was Tora. "Well, whaddya know. That's it alright." Issun's face fell a little. "Does kind of ruin my plans for most of the day though. Where did she even come from anyway?"

"I don't know. I was listening to you and painting the fence when I felt something rubbing against my leg. I looked down and there she was." Ammako said, a look of agitation on her face. "I can't seem to go a day without some animal bothering me."

"I dunno seems pretty useful to me." Issun said as he held out a hand to try and pet Tora. The cat immediately lashed out with a paw, its claws extended. Issun retracted his hand before it could be scratched and Tora went back to its lovey state, again trying to rub up against Ammako.

"You haven't had to deal with this every day for the past year and a half." Ammako muttered.

Issun shrugged her reply off as he scratched his chin. "Still, this leaves us with a lot of time on our hands today. I was planning on the Tora mission to keep us busy until afternoon's training."

Looking up at the sky, Issun determined that it was still before noon by around an hour. Tora being caught this early really did screw up the schedule he had in mind. A thought occurred to him and he snapped his fingers. "I got it. You guys finish up and go turn in your report for this mission. After that take your lunch and meet me back at the training ground. I'll show you what I have in mind once you get there. See you in an hour, I've got some things I need to collect."

With that, Issun vanished in a puff of smoke.

The three genin remained motionless for a few seconds once Issun was gone. Really? He just took off?

As usual, Naruto was the first to voice his displeasure. "Gah! He just left us with work!"

"Will you be quiet. It doesn't help anything when you get agitated." Sasuke muttered a little louder than he normally would. "If you would stop complaining and actually help we would be done sooner."

Naruto crossed his arms and looked way in a huff. "I'm just saying. If he was here then we would have an extra set of hands…"

A look of inspiration appeared on the blond's face. "…extra set of hands..."

Without another word, Naruto put his hands together in a familiar seal. " _ **Kage Bunshin!**_ "

A few puffs of smoke revealed six clones had been created. "Alright, guys! You know what to do!"

"Hai!" all six Naruto's yelled in unison as they grabbed the spare brushes and got to work. The original smirked as he watched his clones paint the fence.

Ammako slapped her face with her palm. She really should've seen this coming. Though she did have to admit that she agreed with Naruto. Though she had known that they would have to deal with D rank missions, she had hoped that they perhaps would've been given something a little tougher than painting a fence and catching a cat.

She glanced at the clones and felt a shudder go down her spine. It was bad enough that there was one of him, now he had the ability to make hundreds of himself. If she hadn't seen it herself she would have thought that she was having a nightmare. Ammako knew that she was going to have to get over this feeling though, they were teammates now after all. It wouldn't do to allow her emotions get the best of her. Besides, she had to admit that her issue with Naruto was incredibly petty. And it wasn't like he was all bad. He could be funny at times. He did genuinely seem to care about his career as a shinobi.

Then his clones started arguing over how to actually paint the fence which quickly devolved into a fight.

Ammako face palmed for what felt like the hundredth time today.

…

"All right! First payment!" Naruto yelled happily as he exited the tower with his first official earnings as a ninja. He rubbed his whiskered cheek against the small bag of ryō and listened as the coins within jingled together. Pride swelled within the boy at his accomplishment.

Though Sasuke was more subdued about it, he too held a small smirk as he tossed his own payment in his up and down in his hand. Ammako, however, had already placed hers into one of the many pouches lining her outfit.

"You guys seem awfully pleased with yourselves. It's only payment for a couple of D rank missions."

"Well excuse me Miss Heiress, but not all of us grew up in a clan you know. It feels good to have earned this myself and not mooch off the village care funds." Naruto muttered, a degree of annoyance in his voice.

Of course, Naruto would be concerned about money now that he was a ninja. Since he graduated, he had been told that he would soon no longer be receiving aid now that he was working. Good thing he was used to paying for things on a limited budget. One of the many things he loved about ramen, it was cheap and delicious. Speaking of ramen…

"Its lunchtime guys, we should celebrate for our first completed missions with a nice meal!" Naruto cheered. "If you guys don't have any suggestions, I have a few."

"Don't tell me, Ichiraku's." Ammako said.

"How'd you know?"

"Oh, I don't know. Could it possibly be that it's the only ramen shop that you talk about ever?!"

"Oh."

Ammako slumped her shoulders as she turned to Sasuke. "You have any suggestions?"

"Not really." was his flat response. "Ramen actually sounds pretty good right now."

"HA! Two to one! Let's go."

The two boys started off, leaving a defeated Ammako behind. The girl hung her head for a moment before she followed.

It wasn't long before the trio reached Naruto's favorite location. With a whoop, Naruto rushed into the curtained stall only to be met with a loud shriek.

"OW! Hey! Watch where you're going!" a female voice yelled out.

"Oof, sorry. I didn't see you." Naruto said as he placed his hand on his chest.

Sakura stepped out of the stall, rubbing her shoulder. "Maybe you should check and make sure where you're going before rushing into a place." She looked around as she exited the stall, her eyes falling on a certain boy. "Sasuke!"

The Uchiha gave a curt nod as a greeting before he walked into the stall ahead of everyone else. Sakura watched him every step of the way, wanting to follow but knowing it would look weird since she just left. Not long after Sasuke entered did two other boys come out.

"Sai! How's the new team going?" Naruto asked upon seeing that one of the boys was his friend.

Sai offered his usual smile as he exited and offered Naruto a wave. "It goes well. I thought that I could introduce my teammates to this place before we went off to meet with our sensei."

"What? You mean you haven't even started yet? The hell!? Our sensei actually came to our places to grab us for our stuff today!"

"Each sensei has their own training methods, perhaps yours merely felt an early start is imperative to your development." Sai offered.

"… What?"

The pale boy slightly smiled at that. "Nothing. Have you met my other teammate? This is Kuni." he said as he gestured at the boy standing next to him.

Kuni though didn't appear to be paying attention as his eyes seemed to be focused on something other than them. Sai noticed this and waved his hand in front of the boy's face.

"Huh? Oh, hi." he said as he noticed everyone else. "Hey, I know you guys. We were in class."

"Yeah, we didn't really talk much though." Naruto said as he offered a hand, which Kuni took.

"No, I don't think we did."

"So what were you looking at?" Naruto asked as he turned to look in the direction Kuni had been staring.

"N-nothing! I wasn't looking at anyone!" Kuni stammered out.

Sai chuckled at that, "It appears that the object of his affection is within eyesight." To further his statement, he pointed in the direction of a certain building. There wasn't anything too special about it, apart from the girl that stood outside getting the attention of people passing by.

"Please, come in and enjoy a cool drink." she would say as she handed out flyers. She looked their age, so it surprised a few of them when they noticed she was asking people to go into the liquor store.

"Umm, is she allowed to solicit for that place at her age?" Ammako asked.

"Her father owns the shop is my understanding. So I would think that it's okay for her to be there." Sai answered.

"I don't get it. Why would her being there do anything to Kuni?" Naruto wondered out loud.

Ammako face palmed and Sai chuckled again.

"It's none of your business!" Kuni snapped. He turned to his teammates. "We need to get going. Sensei is going to be waiting for us if we don't hurry." With that, he dashed off.

Sakura sighed, "He's right, we should hurry." She turned to Naruto and Ammako. "Good luck."

Her and Sai followed after their teammate and were soon out of sight.

Naruto, knowing that ramen was waiting for him on the other side of the curtain, went inside as soon as the other team was gone. Ammako remained for a moment, longingly looking in the direction that Sai went. As distracting as these feelings were, she knew that she would have to face them one day. That day was not today though as she soon followed her teammates.

Once inside, she saw that Naruto was busy talking with the old man who ran the stall, giving a detailed order of exactly what he wanted. Sasuke was already feasting on a single bowl of what smelled like miso ramen, a look of content on his features.

Ammako took a seat and was soon greeted by the teenage girl working behind the counter.

"Hi, welcome to Ichiraku's! What can I get for you today?" the older girl asked.

Ammako stared at the menu on the side for a few seconds as she searched.

"I'll have…"

* * *

 **.xIIIx.**

"You're late." Kakashi said, not even bothering to look up from his book as Issun approached the former Anbu.

A vein pulsed on the Pon's forehead, "You're the last person I want to hear that from. I'm guessing your students are still waiting for you to show up?"

"Waiting builds character." Kakashi muttered as he turned a page.

"Whatever." Issun said. He looked around the monument that Kakashi had told him to meet up at. It had been years since he had last looked upon it, its appearance now took him a bit by surprise. Rather than the drab, plain, grey slab that it had been last he saw it; it was now carved from obsidian and was much larger than it had been as well as being shaped a lot like a kunai. He supposed the additional names now adorning its surface demanded a new monument to be built to accommodate.

"Was that you watching my team this morning?" he asked.

"A little stop over, nothing more." Kakashi responded, his eyes glued to his book. "Wanted to see how things were going with Uzumaki."

"Should I be concerned about your interest in him?"

"This entire op revolves around him, me being present shouldn't be a surprise."

"Uh huh, and who's to say that if I could notice you, that our shifter couldn't?"

"Simple. We know that our little changeling friend is on par with a chunin in terms of combat ability, meaning that their skills at picking up a tail should be around the same level. I have to say, I find it impressive that you were able to sense me at all."

Issun shrugged his shoulders. "Habit really. Now, what did you want to go over? I have things to take care of before I meet back up with my team."

Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a little bundle. "Some info for you from the Uchiha case files have been delivered to your secure lockbox. You'll need this key to transcribe them, should have the information you'll need to get caught up on what we know. Apart from that, anything to report?"

Issun shook his head. "Nothing yet. It might be too soon for anything. It's only been a week since this thing made its move. If I were it, I would be lying low, biding my time to gain new information for a time strike. It's out there, watching, waiting. It's waited this long, it can wait a bit more."

* * *

 **.xIVx.**

The three genin exited the ramen shop in mostly high spirits. The blond held a large content smile as he walked out. The girl followed after and looked mildly annoyed with the boy. Finally was the Uchiha boy, seemingly unimpressed with whatever feat the blond was grinning about and the cause of the girl's annoyance.

The preteens walked by, paying little attention to those around them.

"Naruto, could you stop bragging about how many bowls you just ate. We need to meet up with Sensei soon." the girl told the blond.

"Come on, Ammako, let me have this. I'm getting closer to breaking my record!"

"Ugh, you're hopeless. Sasuke, help me out here."

The boy didn't respond as he turned his head away from his teammates and continued walking.

"Sasuke? Sasuke! Please! I don't want to hear him talk about noodles anymore! Sasuke!"

The dark haired boy ignored the girl's pleas as the blond went on bragging to no one in particular. The girl paused for a moment in irritation as she stared daggers into the backs of her teammates. The two boys didn't appear to notice and proceeded to walk away, leaving their exasperated teammate behind. She loosened up after a moment and let out a breath before she jogged to catch up.

"Guys! Wait up!" she shouted.

The team rounded a corner and were gone, none the wiser that they were being watched.

"Miss? Your receipt." a server said.

"Oh, thank you." the lady said as she accepted a scrap of paper.

"You're welcome, please come by again." the server said with a smile.

"Oh, I think I shall."

* * *

 **.xVx.**

"Argh!" Rasu cried as she threw another scroll into the bin, joining the rest of them in the pile. She slumped in her seat and let out an exasperated sigh. She looked down at her fingers and saw that they were covered in flecks of ink and bits of paper. She then cast a forlorn look at the reflective surface of the mirror on her desk.

She was honestly tired of looking at it. If the sunlight coming in through the window was to be of any indication, she had been up all night and morning working. She rubbed her eyes and slumped even more into her chair, so much so that she was one more heavy sigh from melting out of it. Despite how long she had been up, she didn't feel tired. Wouldn't be the first time she indulged in her bad habit of staying up longer than she should when working on a project she was passionate about.

In this case, though, it was less passion and more of an obsession that drove her. With Issun's contribution of the stone with two languages telling the same story gave her everything, she needed to finally know what was written in the strange glyphs hidden in the mirror in front of her. Now it was just a matter of translating the symbols into something she could recognize. While she had been able to get a few words here and there, she was at a loss for some of the more complex words.

But she wasn't about to give into despair just yet, it had only been one night after all. Even if she did remain up for over twenty-four hours, she knew it was going to take time. Still, it was frustrating that she couldn't figure out how to translate faster or more efficiently. She more than once through the night regretted not taking that course on linguistics during her short stay at a university.

Feeling that she had spent enough time being one with her chair, she stretched her arms up and her body followed along with them. She felt her joints crack and pop as she did so.

'… _fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, aaand seventeen.'_ POP! _'…eighteen. Well, that's a new one.'_

Once she was certain that her body wasn't going to crack anymore, she leaned over her desk and looked at the scattered scrolls, papers, and empty ink wells. More importantly, she looked at the mirror. It just sat there on its stand, hiding its secrets. For years it held the key to knowing about the Okami's past. Who they were. Where they came from. Why they were targeted. And all she needed to know what the mirror hid was to figure out how to translate the writing on it.

But it didn't appear that she was going to figure that out anytime soon. Because right now, she needed to rest.

* * *

 **.xVIx.**

Issun arrived back at the clearing to see his three genin already there and looking bored. He checked the sun and concluded that he was perhaps a little bit late. Oh well, they'd forgive him once he revealed what he had in mind for them.

"Sorry guys had to a take a little more time to prepare." he said as he walked up to them.

Looks of mild agitation from all three but they weren't there long as they all stood from their sitting positions and formed up. Issun took note of how each one presented themselves. Naruto was the least disciplined of the bunch with his arms folded behind his head and his stance loose, his guard down. Sasuke, while his stance was guarded it was more aloof, perhaps a degree of arrogance. From what Issun knew of the Uchiha, this was a safe bet. Ammako stood at attention in textbook perfect fashion. While there was technically wrong with this, it spoke loads about her approach to things. All three though were unanimous in their glares at him though. Seriously, he wasn't that late!

"Right, well, you guys won't be glaring for long. I come bearing gifts." he said as he brought out a storage scroll.

This, of course, warranted an immediate tone change from the genin as their glares vanished to be replaced with curios looks as they all leaned forward a little bit to get a look at the scroll. Once he was sure they were good and hooked, he placed his hand to the seal. "Kai."

A small poof of smoke revealed some items that honestly took the genin by surprise.

"Fans?" a confused Naruto asked. "What good are fans?"

"Ah, we're ninja are we not? Don't underestimate something just because it doesn't look useful. These for example," he said as he picked one of the fans up. "is actually used for storage."

"You mean like your scroll?" the ever curious boy asked.

"Exactly, though you'll find these to be a bit different once you've used them for long enough." he told Naruto as he handed a few of the fans each out to his students.

Ammako looked over the fan she was given which was white with the sun symbol of the Okami clan painted onto it. After a short investigation of the item, she cast Issun a confused look.

"I don't understand. Aren't these too small to be used as a storage item? There's no way someone could write the storage seal small enough to fit on here."

"For anyone else, you'd probably be right. I don't suffer the same limitations as other fuinjutsu users." he told her with a smirk. All that did was increase her look of confusion. That earned a small chuckle from him.

Naruto and Sasuke also went over their fans, flipping them over in their hands. Naruto's was orange with the red leaf of the village decorating its front while Sasuke's was blue with the Uchiha fan symbol.

"You guys will be using these along with standard storage scrolls as well your backpacks or pouches. This will hopefully lead to people targeting those instead of the fans when we're outside the village. I want you to store your more crucial gear in the fans. They can hold up to twenty-five items total. I've already loaded your fans with an emergency first-aid kit, a one person tent, a pouch of food pills, ten meters of rope, matches, a straw hat, and a towel. I know that a lot of that seems redundant, but trust me when I tell you that there will come a time where you'll appreciate having those things at some point. Apart from those items, put whatever else you feel is necessary into your kit."

The genin gave their fans one last once over before they all stashed them away in their pockets for the time being and once again stood at attention.

"Now, with that out of the way, we can get to the next part of our training." he said as he brought out several sheets of squared paper. "Do any of you know what these are?"

For once, Ammako didn't have an answer as she looked as perplexed as the other two genin. All three shook their heads.

Issun grinned as he drew one sheet from the rest and held it with both hands between his thumbs and forefingers. "These are sheets of chakra paper. Let me show you what they do."

Issun channeled some of his chakra through the paper and… nothing. Nothing happened.

"Uh, Sensei? I don't think its working." an underwhelmed Naruto stated.

"Of course not. Unfortunately, chakra paper doesn't react to my natures, which are Inton and Yōton. Chakra paper only reacts with the five primary elemental releases. Fire will make the paper burn. Water makes it damp. Wind will cut it in half. Earth will turn the paper to dust. And lightning will make it wrinkle. This is the simplest method of determining one's primary elemental nature."

He handed out a sheet to each of the three.

"The downside to it being so simple is that the paper will only show your dominant nature, so if you have more than one, you'll have to find some other means of discerning your hidden natures. Go on, channel some chakra through the sheet."

So they did. Ammako was the first to get a reaction as her sheet caught on fire and was quickly reduced to ash. Sasuke was next, his paper crinkling in between his fingers. Naruto seemed to be struggling with his sheet for a bit but was soon treated with a response as the paper split cleanly right down the middle.

"So we have fire, lightning, and wind. Not bad guys."

While Naruto looked ecstatic, the other two seemed a little confused, though for different reasons if Issun had to guess.

Sasuke wasn't forthcoming with his befuddlement, but Ammako was more than ready to ask questions.

"So what does this mean?"

"It means that I now know what I can do to help you guys train. Each of the elements requires different methods of training. Wind for example, often calls that in order to show mastery of it, one needs to cut a waterfall in half. The others have similar mastery requirements. Get excited, most ninja don't get to train in nature transformation until they're usually chunin. But like I said this morning, we won't be training those until we work out our basics and teamwork first. Consider this something to look forward to and a reason for getting the boring stuff out of the way sooner."

All three got excited by that news, they were more than ready to get to that point of their training.

"Now, let's begin our training for this afternoon. Show me how well you guys can run up those trees."

* * *

 **.xVIIx.**

Ammako was hurting. More precisely, her butt was hurting. They ran up those trees for hours, more than long enough to deplete their chakra reserves. Ammako didn't like the fact that she had been the first to run out of chakra, but it helped her wounded pride a bit that it was Naruto who fell first. Not that it really affected him. She could fault him for a lot of things, but his tenacity was not one of them.

Speaking of, she looked ahead at the two boys she called teammates.

"I'm telling you, that tree is old or something. There's no other explanation for why I fell so many times." Naruto said as he tried to convince the ever stoic Sasuke.

For his part, Sasuke didn't seem to be all that bothered, though Ammako suspected that he wasn't really listening. He gave various grunts every now and then though and that seemed to convince Naruto that he was responding.

Naruto kept talking, not knowing that no one was really listening. Ammako suspected that he didn't really care, he just seemed happy to be talking. Given what she knew of him, that probably wasn't far off.

"Hey! You're not even listening, are you!"

Ah, seems he finally caught on. Sasuke grunted in affirmation, just as he had been for the past few minutes. Naruto sulked a bit at that and Sasuke continued to walk towards his home. Now that Naruto was no longer speaking, it gave him time to glance back and see Ammako and his smile returned. Oh no.

"Ammako! Hey, what do you think the issue was?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, she was so not prepared for this. "I don't know. It could be any number of reasons. Look, I don't really have time to talk right now. I have to get home and start on my studies."

"Studies? We're not in class anymore, what do you have to study for?"

Her eyebrow twitched, of course he wouldn't understand. "In case you've forgotten or failed to even notice at all, I am next in line to be the clan head of the Okami Clan. I have a lot of things that I have to go over in order to prepare for that. I don't have time to speak with you about why you kept falling out of the tree. Really, it should be obvious."

"If it's so obvious, then why not tell me?" he said a little indignantly as he crossed his arms.

"Ugh. I don't have time for this. See you tomorrow, maybe I'll tell you then." she huffed as she turned away to head home. She didn't hear Naruto say anything and risked a glance back. Naruto was just standing there, looking at the ground. She wasn't able to read the expression on his face, though she suspected he was a bit hurt. She'd make sure to apologize later, but she really was late. She honestly wasn't looking forward to her leadership lessons, but what else could she do? There was no one else that could lead the family, not the way the blood ran. He couldn't understand.

He was only like that for a couple seconds, as he soon shrugged his shoulders and started heading off into a different direction than he had been heading. It didn't take Ammako a lot to figure out where he was going. She felt a pang of hurt in her chest at the realization. There was only one thing in that direction where they would both go.

He didn't understand. She felt tension building up in her hands and saw that she was balling her fists pretty tight. She spread out her fingers to release that tension and watched as the blood rushed back into her pale palms. She shot one last glance in the direction Naruto had gone before turning back.

He didn't understand.

* * *

 **.xVIIIx.**

' _What's her problem? It was a simple question.'_

Naruto grumbled to himself as he walked to his destination. Really, would it cut into her precious schedule too much to tell him? If it was so obvious, then it should've been easy. He shook his head. Girls were weird. She seemed perfectly happy earlier, well, mostly.

' _Man, I don't want to think about this. Makes my head hurt.'_

His foul mood didn't last long though as he soon reached where he had been headed. He let his smile creep back into existence as he put his hand forward and pushed the door open.

"Oy! Old man! Your favorite customer is here!"

Mr. Orange looked towards the loud boy, not at all surprised. "Oh? I don't see any pretty snake ladies here, so who are you talking about, brat?"

"Who are you calling brat!"

"The orange loving loud mouth that just entered my shop, that's who."

"Will the both of you knock it off! I swear you go through this every single time." Mrs. Orange chastised the two as she walked into the room carrying a basket of baked goods for the counter. "Would it kill you to once have a civil greeting?"

"Seems like an unnecessary risk, best not to chance it." Mr. Orange shot back wearing his best grin.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed.

"You're both hopeless." she said as she put the items away. "What brings you by this evening, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto pulled up a chair and sat down, smiling as he did so. "I just got done with my first day as a ninja." He pulled out his toad shaped wallet, Gama-chan, and showed it to the older couple that it was full. "Got my first pay after doing our missions."

"That's wonderful, Naruto-kun. Glad to see that your day went well." Mrs. Orange said with a smile.

Naruto's smile faded as he remembered what happened before he got here. "It was going well, up until a little bit ago."

"Oh no, what happened?" she asked as she went next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto was quiet for a second as he thought about what to say. "I don't think Ammako likes me very much."

Mrs. Orange gave him a reassuring look and pulled him into a small hug. She turned to her husband and gave him a look. He understood and walked into the back, giving the boy and woman a little privacy.

"Naruto-kun, Ammako doesn't dislike you, per se. Not directly at least."

He gave her a look, not understanding.

"How should I put this, it's not my place to tell you things about her that she hasn't told you herself." She thought for a second. "She has a lot that she needs to deal with. As heiress to her clan, she has many responsibilities that she is required to tend to. That in turn means she is under a lot of pressure to be at her best. I'm not saying that you need to understand, but it would be for the best if you keep that in mind when you speak with her."

"Oh…"

Mrs. Orange smiled. "That and she's a girl, dearie. We exist on an entirely different level of reality than you boys do."

"Stop spreading lies around woman! Your kind just makes things more difficult than they need to be!" Mr. Orange as he came back in.

"Pfft, Honey, you know I love you, but you couldn't be more wrong about this."

"Bah."

Naruto watched the exchange and felt a pang in his chest. He didn't quite know what was going on here, these two often acted like this. The fought and argued all the time. Everything Naruto had ever experienced meant that these two shouldn't like each other. Yet, here they were, being all lovey-dovey, hugging and kissing. All while still arguing. It didn't make any sense to the boy. And yet… it stirred something within him. He could feel it, deep in his chest. He had no idea what it was, but it felt… nice.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Naruto?"

"Yeah."

* * *

 **And Scene!**

So as I stated at the top there, life happened to me and that is why this chapter is as late as it is. To say the least, it left me in a state where I wasn't able to or unwilling to write. Mostly, this chapter was just tough for many reasons. I've struggled to get it written for pretty much all year as I wanted it out in time for the 2-year anniversary back in February, but that didn't happen, clearly. Anyway, that's that, onto reviews!

 **AbyssEater** \- I'm sorry you feel that way, but I hardly consider the story ruined just because you dislike the chosen pairing for it. To each their own.

 **Zero300x, Aguion12** \- Yes, a wild Cuccoo attack has appeared! This is going to tie in with a running gag I want present for Moe, details to come as the story progresses. Though given what I have in mind for the upcoming arc, that probably won't be seen for some time.

Going to skip over a few here as I answered those reviews directly already.

 **allan -** I'm not out to please everyone, the story isn't what you expected, not my problem.

 **Zoran Dawn-Eclipse** \- Aside from the Sensei's the team are mostly canon, for the genin anyway. The obvious difference though is the creation of a totally new team in Team 6, we also have a new Team 7 and 8. I honestly didn't notice the eye references, though I do have to say that eye references are going to abound for quite some time. As for Oina tribe references, we're just going to have to wait and see. *wink*

 **oki-wan** \- And to our newest reviewer, I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this out later than I stated before, but hey, it's here now!

This chapter is not what I wanted it to be, but with all the struggles I went through writing it, I just want it out. It's been long enough and I've kept you all waiting longer than I am comfortable with. Next chapter is the official start of the next Arc. Speaking of the next arc, I am going to try a different approach to it. Rather than the long-winded chapters I've been putting out for a while now, I'm going to try and keep them down to around 5-6k words, just so I can get them out faster. Also going to try and get ahead of the chapters so I can post regularly.

With that said, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and until next time, Lostbasin out! Please review!


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